A reporter once asked the USMNT star winger Diego Luna, “What would you be doing if you weren’t a soccer player?” And he replied, “Man, that’s tough. A firefighter, maybe.” Well, it was truly a blessing from God that the beautiful game found its future superstar in a firefighter’s suit. When the chance presented itself, Diego didn’t shy away from grabbing the opportunity to shine upward and onwards.

From suffering a broken nasal bone in January against Costa Rica to breaking opponent teams’ hearts, Diego does his attacking job seamlessly. The 21-year-old star player has been pounding the opponents since he got on the roster. But as his fame spreads beyond the field, fans want more details on Luna than just knowing him as a good scorer in clutch moments. The soccer prodigy’s life is now in demand of public scrutiny. Who is he? Where is he from?

What is Diego Luna’s nationality?

There is actually no official or trusted source that confirms Diego Luna’s nationality as American. But Diego Luna identifies himself as Mexican-American. The 21-year-old was born and raised in Sunnyvale, California. This is where Luna’s soccer journey started. He used to play for Real Salt Lake as an attacking midfielder. Since his childhood, Diego has been a die-hard USMNT fan. In a recent interview, he mentioned that he had been the only exception in his family, rooting for the U.S. soccer team instead.

His enthusiasm towards soccer is evident from his recent interview with FOX Sports. But alongside, he also expressed that there were odds of his joining the Mexican soccer team when he was under 20. When the reporter asked him, “You’re from California, but you could have represented Mexico instead of the U.S. What was it like having both options?” Luna’s reply was, “Yeah, they contacted me about playing for them when I was with the [U.S.] under-20s. But that was a long time ago now.” He has roots in Mexico.

What is Diego Luna’s religion and ethnicity? 

As mentioned above, Luna was born in Sunnyvale, California, but his parents are of Mexican descent. It is his Mexican roots that opened up doors for him to potentially play for Mexico first. His parents’ roots and culture gave him the option to choose between two soccer powerhouses. Luna’s father, Alberto ‘Beto’ Luna, a former professional indoor soccer player who played for the San Jose Shocker in the 1980s, and his mother, Suzanna Luna, are of Mexican lineage.

To talk about his religion, Diego Luna’s is not specified anywhere, but if we look at his social media handle, we may get an answer. On October 8, 2024, Diego posted a photo of him praying to God on the field kneeling down. And the captain goes like this: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” This was a crucial and struggling time in Luna’s life as he was on the USA’s 18-man Olympic roster last year. So, the message in that post’s caption was great, which also revealed that Diego either follows Judaism or Christianity, as the verse is the foundation of both religions.  

He kicked off his soccer journey with the Palo Alto Soccer Club in California. He then joined the San Jose Earthquakes Academy, followed by the Barca Residency Academy in Arizona. And interestingly he has a tattoo for this memorable journey. As we know, Diego is a massive fan of tattoos, and he gets a tattoo when something special happens in his life. To talk about his journey to Arizona, he has a tattoo for it which is widely known for leaving home at 15. He accepted a scholarship from Barça Residency Academy, which was an affiliate program of FC Barcelona.

But everything changed in 2021 when, at 18, he began playing for El Paso Locomotive after working hard every single day. Maybe he wasn’t just playing good soccer but was already visualizing himself representing the United States on the international stage and making a name for himself.