Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
The United States advanced out of the group stage at a World Cup for the second time in six months on Tuesday. This time the team was aided by a 19-year-old Real Salt Lake player.
The U.S. youth national team defeated Fiji 3-0 in its second game of the U-20 World Cup in Argentina, securing a spot in the Round of 16 knockout stage.
RSL midfielder Diego Luna was scoreless as a starter in the team's 1-0 win in the opener against Ecuador over the weekend but came off the bench to score the first goal for the U.S. Tuesday in the 67th minute against the "Junior Bula Boys" of Fiji.
RESISTANCE BROKEN 😤@realsaltlake's Diego Luna puts the @USYNT ahead 1-0! pic.twitter.com/qraI2Kqaa1
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) May 23, 2023
The California native sprinted into the box and was the first to a loose ball that he proceeded to slot perfectly in the bottom right corner of the goal.
Luna has yet to score for RSL since joining the team a year ago but did get a pair of goals, along with an assist, for the Real Monarchs on April 30.
"The moon is shining bright!" RSL said via Twitter following the breakthrough goal on Tuesday. Luna has earned the nickname "Moon Boy" among RSL and U.S. soccer fans — the Spanish word for moon is "luna."
The U.S. takes on Slovakia — the second-place squad in Group B — on Friday in its final match of group play. The top two teams in each of the six groups, plus the four best third-placed teams move on to the Round of 16, which begins on May 30.
