This might be one of the dumber attempts at "logic" that I've ever seen. Luna had 4g/4a in 950 minutes this year for the US. Luna started and scored in the US' most impressive win. Luna assisted in the Nations League on our only goal, against Canada, in a tournament in which all our supposed stars couldn't muster any goal production. And it was Luna that got us to the Gold Cup Finals with 3 goal contributions in two knock out games. It's a team sport, but if any players are responsible for the poor year, I'd say it's someone who lost to Panama in the Nations League, then maybe didn't bother to show for the Gold Cup. Much more than the most goal productive USMNT player of the year.
That's because you don't actually do anything except compare club resumes. 4g/4a in 950 minutes. Against Uruguay and Canada. In knockouts, when we desperately needed it to advance. I know that you love making up lineups with sparkly Badges on them, but it's hilarious to watch you and this other dude act like Luna's been poor this year or something. The reality is that some of us just value actual play. Luckily for everyone, Pochettino is one of those guys. And so is pretty much every coach ever.
Imagine thinking 4g/4a in 950 minutes is just "grit." And then imagine watching the turnaround this year and using grit as a derogatory term. "LOL, he tries hard! What a loser!" Yep, the USMNT fanbase everyone. Let's hear it for them!
And think of all the games we won when Pulisic didn't start. Honest question: who do you think he would displace?
here’s a thought: it is my belief that Messi wouldn’t be half the player his is/was if he didn’t have his grit grit is an underrated quality.
to be clear, I like Luna a lot. I believe he has a lot to offer. That being said, I think Pulisic will ultimately be more important to our success (or failure). I see Pulisic as a clear lock for the starting 11. He has no real competition for his role. Luna, on the other hand has a great deal of competition just to be first off the bench, let alone start a game. I believe Luna is “probably” a lock for the 26, maybe a lock for first 23 too but that is less certain.
Haha Yes, thank you for pointing this out actually. Luna really struggles physically to go full 90. It has been a real problem at club level too.
haha I mean, I just put down the bad stuff, you put down the good. My conclusion is that the bad far outweighed the good. Your conclusion is that the good far outweighed the bad. No big deal. At the end of the day, I am the one that has to go back and watch him week in and week out again at my club like I have had to for 3+ seasons. Haha believe me, I lose no matter what.
He's not going to be asked to do that for a full strength US team barring at least 2 injuries, though
It's worth noting that Poch's reputation is that he generally brings his subs in late and sometimes not at all. Or at least it was at club. No idea on the rotation aspect.
We don't need to assign attitudes to anyone and we certainly don't need to use silly names. The reality is that Luna has been more goal productive (and I'd say better) for the US in 2025 than Christian Pulisic has. Do I think Luna is a better player? Heck no. Do I think he should start over Christian? No. Do I think people should be criticizing Luna as a "try hard" and claiming he's done nothing? Well, no, that seems completely divorced from reality. There's so many people that seem afraid to simply acknowledge facts because it might threaten whatever precious arguments they've made before instead of incorporating new data honestly.
But why? Luna has been better for the US than Pulisic. Again, just because Pulisic has been great for Milan, doesn't necessarily mean that will translate to the US. Especially because Luna is an actual AM/winger, while Pulisic is a second striker, and we don't play with a front two.
He's been an actual winger and inverted winger for much of his career. Most of his career. For club and for country. And he is by far the best American who plays soccer. With respect, to suggest that he belongs on the bench is the single-stupidest thing I've heard on this board by anyone who has not had a forum ban in many years. Your arguments frankly sound motivated by... something. I can understand the desire to better use him. I can understand the desire to want Poch to take a look at a 352 to better suit our best player by far. But c'mon....
Wonderful and well crafted bulletproof reasoning. There is zero evidence whatsoever that Eurodiva Christian Pulisic can produce for the national team, compared to the long and unassailable resume of Luna carrying the team through numerous qualifying campaigns and delivering at a WC. I particularly applaud the part where you correctly note that Pulisic can and only has ever played second striker, which as every cultured and knowledgeable analyst such as yourself knows, is a completely different role, mammal even, then the highly specialized breed of winger/am like Luna. Close the thread, it’s solved.
Because there's more data available than 950 minutes for Luna and 350 minutes for Christian. Club play shouldn't override national team play, but the performance there does translate at some level. It's the same player; that's all part of scouting who the player is. In addition, and probably more importantly, Christian has a long track record of quality play with the US. I agree with you that there are times that he presses, but let's not pretend that he's been bad for the US. He's our best player most games when he steps on the field. He was our best player in Qatar. A bad Copa American and Nations League does not change that, especially when the whole team struggled. In some cases, club play doesn't translate for a number of different reasons, but Christian's actually never been that guy. And of course, on a straight ability level, Christian is quicker, faster, with better ball control and much stronger finishing skills. I think Luna is actually closer to Christian in many of the skill aspects and dribbling sauce than most, and I love his off ball work (which CP does as well) but Christian has a number of edges that make him a better player. Now, there are times when he blunts his effectiveness for the US because of less than ideal decision making. But that means you work on that decision making. You don't act like he always does that or that he's hopeless. ----------------------------------------- I'm a big believer in the idea that a lot of players need to play a certain way to be effective, but this simply isn't true about Christian. He has had wildly effective runs as a player at winger (Dortmund and Chelsea), at attacking mid (just last year for Milan) and now at second striker. He tends to play them all pretty similarly, so it really doesn't matter. And that role is not different than how Poch wants this role to play -- it's the choices within it that can make a difference. Part of his run last year and this is just simple improvement. Part of his run this year is a finishing hot streak -- which, by the way, has been what has fueled most of the time when people go crazy for him. And most players. He's best in the half space and he's best being able to alternate between on ball and off ball runs. He's best in a bit of space (who isn't?). We don't need to play a front 2 to get that out of him -- as has been proven with Dortmund, Chelsea, Milan and the US.
Actually, I think it's quite the opposite. Maybe you didn't see the rhyme or reason, but look at where the side started and where they are now. There are players who have contributed to the last 2 very good breaks who were nowhere to be found a year ago. He's had a plan (to see lots of player and see who fits HIS system) over the different camps. And guess what, it's working so far.
Yeah, totally agree. I didn't mean that there isn't any rhyme or reason from Poch's standpoint. I actually meant that trying to use the callups from a window to predict who will be on the final World Cup roster from fans' perspectives doesn't really work. After the summer, lots of people had Agyemang as a lock. Some were saying that Pulisic wouldn't be able to work his way back in. After September, lots of people thought Blackmon had an inside track. Roldan is considered a lock by many now. There is still a long way to go, and I don't think the snap judgements that people do from camp to camp are very accurate.
You don't need to sling shit at one player to elevate another. We've got a lot of good players who are vying for spots on the 26 WC roster. You and I like Luna, but whatever he brings is not the same that Pulisic brings. We can (and SHOULD) appreciate all of our players for who they are. Just the same, we can (and SHOULD) bring up criticisms of our players for the same reason. Ultimately, most of us on here want to see the USMNT put forth the best PERFORMANCE in 26 that we can muster, regardless of who is on the field.
I bolded one part of your comment, and that's specifically what I'm responding to. I think Pulisic is quicker and faster than Luna, but I have my doubts that he's got better ball control and is a better finisher than Luna. I'm with you 50/50 there. But Pulisic has much more experience (at any level, whatever level that is) than Luna. And I'm one who definitely values experience. So, in my mind, Pulisic gets the benefit of the doubt. But Luna is a really good option for replacement, be it in-game or in the starting lineup, depending on a whole slew of other factors that are impossible to discuss in December 2025.
I thought a decent amount about that statement, and I think that there's just some plays that only Christian really pulls off. I'd imagine for 90% of the game, skills wise, they might look the same. But Christian is just far more likely to pull down a long pass perfectly into stride or hit a complete banger, I think. He just has a skillset that allows him to make a special play at a rate more than someone like Luna. It's not always display, but it occurs enough, IMO. Either way, I think we agree that Pulisic is the better player. But yeah, for the obvious reasons that some folks really can't get past club, I think Luna gets very much underrated amongst the fanbase.