Diego Luna Shines Bright: Things We Learned From USA 3-0 Costa Rica | OneFootball

The U.S. men's national team won their second international friendly of January dispatching Costa Rica at Inter & Co Stadium in Orlando, FL.

Mauricio Pochettino had a younger squad to work with in January given stars like Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson, Tim Weah, Weston McKennie and others were with their club teams. The camp gave youngsters the opportunity to impress the Argentine manager as he continues to implement his system and figure out what he has at his disposal ahead of the Concacaf Nations League semifinals.

Brian White and Caden Clark scored their first international goals on the night and Patrick Agyemang capped off the strong performance in stoppage time. Pochettino's only blemish on his record so far is the friendly loss to Mexico back in October. Next up is the Concacaf Nations League semifinals against Panama and there's a score to settle for the team.

Panama beat the USA in Copa America group play last summer, a result that eventually lead to the host nation getting eliminated, Gregg Berhalter being fired and the hiring of Pochettino. It remains to be seen how many players from this camp will be involved come March, but there were plenty of positives from the two friendlies.

Things we learned from USA's victory over Costa Rica below.

Diego Luna and the 10 Role Moving Forward

Mauricio Pochettino has openly discussed the importance and his love for the 10 role, or the creative attacking midfielder, in his 4-2-3-1 system. Diego Luna assisted the opener against Costa Rica giving Brian White his first international goal. Luna, 21-years-old, was left out of the 2024 Summer Olympics and declined to be an alternate putting his future with the Stars and Stripes into question after potentially being open to changing his allegiance to Mexico.

After his performances in January, fans are going to want to see more of the Real Salt Lake midfielder. Pochettino probably will as well given he's a true 10. Much has been made about the striker situation—more on that in a bit—but having that true creative force might end up being more important given how dangerous the USMNT can be down the wings through Pulisic and Weah. A nose injury unfortunately ended Luna's night after the first half, but fans hope those 45 minutes are the jumping off point for him moving forward.

A Camp of Debuts and MLS Importance

Agyemang, Max Arfsten, George Campbell, Emeka Eneli, Brian Gutiérrez, Matko Miljevic and Indiana Vassilev all made their first camps with the senior USMNT squad this January. Even further, 20 of the 21 players included in the camp were Major League Soccer players. Miljevic was the only non-MLS player. The American superstars abroad speak for themselves, but Pochettino needed this camp to get to know those competing in MLS and those coming through the ranks.

Agyemang is a player to watch moving forward. The 24-year-old scored against both Venezuela and Costa Rica He should be in line for more opportunities moving forward alongside Luna.

As Pochettino continues to work with the likes of Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright, the USMNT need to have their group of strikers ironed out by the end of the year. Could Agyemang be knocking on the door and challenging those names as we build toward the World Cup?

No Superstars? No Problem

It's difficult replacing the likes of Robinson, Pulisic, McKennie, Weah, Reyna, Balogun, Pepi... the list goes on. As long as they're all healthy, those players should play a big part in USA's Concacaf Nations League run later this year.

Still, a roster that included seven players making their first USMNT camp looked solid without those big names playing part.

Two wins and six goals scored with that many new players speak to part of why the U.S. Soccer Federation wanted Pochettino. Much has been made of his recent stints at Paris-Saint Germain and Chelsea, but Pochettino gained notoriety with Tottenham Hotspur for his ability to develop young talent. If he can continue to get the most out of his stars while involving the next generation, the future could be very bright for the Stars and Stripes.