The USMNT and Real Salt Lake midfielder has been omitted from the United States roster for the upcoming World Cup.
Despite being heavily featured in marketing campaigns and appearing in 17 of the team's last 18 games, manager Mauricio Pochettino ultimately left Diego Luna off the final 26-man squad in favor of options like Gio Reyna.
The shocking omission by Mauricio Pochettino has sparked intense backlash among U.S. soccer fans.
Now USMNT legend Tab Ramos has also made his opinion clear on Luna’s omission from the squad.
Tab Ramos Questions Pochettino’s Loyalty for Diego Luna
Tab Ramos, speaking on the 'Inside American Soccer' podcast with Tom Bogert, has been vocal about his belief that the Real Salt Lake playmaker deserves a spot on the squad.
He suggested that Mauricio Pochettino’s selection style relies heavily on trust and tactical consistency, and that the player’s strong club form hasn’t yet been fully rewarded with a national team call-up.
Photo by Howard Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images
Ramos believes Diego Luna showed absolute loyalty to Mauricio Pochettino and the USMNT program by performing at a high level every time he was called upon.
"If you recall, the day of the broken nose, he was the guy that made us think back to past national teams," he recalled.
Ramos was referring to an incident where Luna was elbowed by a Costa Rican player during a match in January 2025. Despite the fracture, Luna refused to leave the pitch and even set up a crucial goal, earning high praise from Pochettino.
"For the last five or six years, we've been talking about how this team, it lacked a little bit of that American spirit, and I think Luna had that. And Luna helped Pochettino bring that back. And I think by not selecting him to this roster, I think he was not as loyal to Luna as Luna was to him," Ramos added.
He believes that when a player performs regularly at club and international level, leaving them out before a major tournament cycle can hurt trust and team morale.
Instead, Pochettino strongly backed Gio Reyna, keeping him in the squad despite his limited club minutes this season, and included Sebastian Berhalter following his strong MLS form.
