Real Salt Lake stars Diego Luna and Emeka Eneli were invited to the U.S. men’s national soccer team’s January training camp.

It was an opportunity to prove themselves worthy of a roster spot for the Concacaf Nations League Finals and the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup later this year, as well as for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

On Monday, Luna and Eneli met with local media to discuss their camp experience so far and Real Salt Lake’s upcoming season.

Here are four takeaways from the press conference.

Diego Luna on his Olympics snub

Despite earning call-ups to the national team earlier in the year and having a successful season with RSL, Luna was left off the U.S. team’s 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

National team coach Marko Mitrović offered Luna one of the four alternate spots, but Luna declined in order to focus on his season with RSL, according to ESPN.

Luna was asked Monday if there were any hard feelings ahead of this camp as a result of the snub.

“I think my mind’s past that already. I have no hard feelings. You could say I have a little bit of grit and a little bit of like something to work for. They made their decisions, and that’s fine. You can’t go back on that, but I’m going to just continue to work and see where the next chances for me and next big moments for me to take on and to wear the crest are,” he said.

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Diego Luna on having a friendly RSL face at USMNT camp

While Luna has been called up to the national team before, he’s only played in one match for the team. For this camp, he is joined by one of his “close friends,” Eneli.

“I’m happy for him. I’m excited for him. He deserves this, and he earned it. The amount of work he’s put in in the past years with RSL has been unbelievable,” Luna said.

Though Luna is younger than Eneli, he’s proud of his teammate and “just happy for him to be able to get the recognition that he deserves,” he said.

Emeka Eneli on his first USMNT call-up

This month marks Eneli’s first call-up to the senior men’s national team, although he’s entering his third year with RSL.

“When I got the call, it was a surreal moment because, like I said, it’s something you dream of since you first started playing soccer. You turn on the TV and you see the national team playing. You see other national teams playing, like, ‘Wow, that’s such a unique opportunity to represent your country.' So when I first got the call, I was just elated, super excited, (and) almost at a loss of words,” he said.

Eneli was home with his family when he received the call with the news. They were the first people he told.

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“They were super excited for me,” he said. “I got to experience it with my family at the moment when I told them, and it was just a really nice moment that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.”

Emeka Eneli on his goals for the 2025 season

Entering the 2025 season, Eneli wants to become a better leader and to earn as many minutes on the pitch that he can, he said.

“I think one of my main goals, again, is to try and play as many games, as many minutes as I can. I think if I can do that and stay healthy, then I think I consider that a good season for me. So play as many games as possible, as many minutes as possible, and just be that first name penciled in on the starting 11, so I can really impose my will on the game,” he said.

The U.S. men’s national team will play Venezuela on Jan. 18 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Costa Rica on Jan. 22 in Orlando, Florida.

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