Diego Luna Says 2026 Will Be Biggest Moment For Soccer In America

We are only months away from the World Cup kicking off in North America, with the United States hosting 78 of the 104 matches ... and USMNT member Diego Luna is well aware of the stakes ... telling TMZ Sports it's one of the biggest years for the sport stateside!!

We chatted with Luna out at LAX ... and he described the World Cup in the U.S. as a "once in a lifetime opportunity for us."

"I think for the country itself, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Luna said. "The soccer is built here so much and to now have the World Cup come here. I think this is the biggest opportunity to kind of take that big step into making soccer a super popular sport here."

It's not just the World Cup ... as in a little over two years time -- Los Angeles is set to host the 2028 Olympics.

So, what are his thoughts on the team's talent heading into such a pivotal few years?

"I think we have a lot of different guys, a lot of different attributes that guys bring to the team, which is very different," Luna said. "This isn't your original U.S. Soccer Team.

"We got a lot of guys that bring different things to the team, different quality of players, and I think all together with the right mindset, it leads to a really good team and performances like we just had."