That “connection between the fans and the team,” Pochettino said, “that is the connection that we [would] like to see in the World Cup. That connection that makes you fly.”

The U.S. men's national team secured a 2–1 victory over Guatemala at Energizer Park to punch their tickets to the Gold Cup final. Just three days after the USMNT dispatched a resilient Costa Rica side in a nerve-wracking penalty shootout,

It was not Diego Luna's first time with the U.S. men's national team but the abridged version of the story arc begins with an elbow to the face. In the first half of the USMNT's 3-0 win over Costa Rica last winter,