U.S. Soccer star Diego Luna, who was surprisingly left off the men's World Cup roster, made some controversial remarks about his omission and his future with the national team.

“For me, it’s about who will give me the best opportunity to play at an international level,” Luna said when asked about if we was considering continuing to play for the United States or switching to Mexico in the future.

Luna made the remarks to the Chicos Tóxicos social media outlet about possibly representing Mexico instead of the U.S. The hosts talked about how Luna could get more playing time with Mexico.

"Let's just say, is it too late to go to Mexico now?" one of the hosts asks Luna.

Luna replied, "I think you get like a one-time switch. But yeah, we will see."

Can Diego Luna still play for Mexico?

The former El Paso Locomotive player is a Mexican-American player from Sunnyvale, California. He was eligible for both the U.S. and Mexico national teams. He is now cap-tied to the U.S. team, having made 18 appearances with the Senior U.S. Soccer team and played with the federation's youth teams, including the U20 and U23 teams.

However, he could still technically transfer to Mexico by requesting a change of federation with FIFA. While he qualifies to play for either team, it is unlikely that a change would be allowed, since he has played most of his international career with the U.S. Soccer Federation.

Why is Diego Luna not playing?

Luna's exclusion from the U.S. Soccer team was a massive surprise, leaving fans stunned. He played in 18 games for the USMNT in the lead-up to the World Cup, scoring four goals and adding three assists.

He became a fan favorite after he suffered a broken nose in a January 2025 friendly match against Costa Rica. As he bled from the nose, he fought for the opportunity to stay in the game. Within three minutes of being cleared by medical staff and allowed to stay in by his manager, Mauricio Pochettino, Luna assisted with a major goal for the U.S. within three minutes of returning to the pitch.

Luna's performance made him a star as he became the face of the U.S. team. However, Pochettino left him off the World Cup roster.

While no official explanation for his exclusion has been given, it is believed that his inexperience at the club level and lack of games against top-ranked teams are the main reasons he was left out.

The U.S. team is made up of a majority of players playing at the top level of soccer in Europe. Luna currently plays for Real Salt Lake, with him expected to move to a European team in the coming years.

When does US Soccer and Mexico play in World Cup?

Mexico continues its World Cup dreams against South Korea on Thursday, June 18, in Guadalajara, Mexico. The team defeated South Africa 2-0 in their 2026 World Cup opening match. The game starts at 7 p.m. MT.

The U.S. Soccer team will take on Australia in its second match at 1 p.m. MT in Seattle, Washington. The U.S. defeated Paraguay 4-1 in its opening match.

Both games will be in English on FOX and in Spanish on Telemundo and Peacock.

Aaron Martinez is a staff reporter for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com.

Source: El Paso Times