Diego Kochen grew up with Lamine Yamal in Barcelona. Now he’s chasing the USMNT breakthrough

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. – Shortly after Spain won the World Cup this summer, U.S. goaltending prospect Diego Kochen reached for his phone to text old friends celebrating at the Meadowlands.

One was Lamine Yamal, a rising winger who quickly rose to global superstardom. Another was centre-back Pau Cubarsi, who received the FIFA Young Player Award for Spain’s near-flawless defensive work during the tournament.

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The trio stood up together MasiaFC Barcelona’s legendary youth academy that produced Lionel Messi, among others.

“I told them I’m very happy for them and they deserve it 100 percent,” Kochen told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday at the U.S. national team’s camp near Atlanta. “I grew up with it [them]. They started [climbing the Barcelona ladder] pretty quickly.”

At 20, a year older than his famous friends, Kochen parlayed his Barcelona experiences into a quieter path for both club and country.

After two seasons manning the gates in the third and fourth tiers of Barcelona’s B team – and often sitting on the bench for a decorated senior squad – Miami is finally playing first division football on loan at Danish club Lyngby.

Minutes like that were essential to asserting themselves in the U.S. goaltending pool heading into the 2028 Olympics and 2030 World Cup. Kochen, who has been the face of the national youth team for years, was first invited to the senior camp two years ago and returned as an uncertain participant in the World Cup training camp in May.

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He is yet to receive his first senior cap, which could come in this 16-day camp, which features friendlies against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada.

“Honestly, I was a little surprised,” Kochen said. “It was a very happy feeling, wasn’t it? As soon as I got the email, I was really excited to come and represent my country. I’m very grateful and very, very grateful.”

He is here between the four guards. Only World Cup starter Matt Freese arrived with significant international experience – and that came in just 16 months, and included a horrific fumble that led to Belgium’s third goal in a 4-1 round-of-16 defeat in Seattle.

Other invitees include third baseman Chris Brady, who has played once in a World Cup, and Brian Schwack, who is in his first camp.

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“I came here with one mindset, and that’s just to learn from the people around me,” Kochen said. “Basically learning as much as possible and competing and showing what I’ve got.”

Kochen will be looking to show his pedigree at Barcelona and the Lyngby experience has elevated his game to a senior international level. He has started all nine league matches for Lyngby, who have returned to Denmark’s top division this season. The club retain a transfer option to sign Koce permanently next summer.

“I couldn’t be happier,” he said. “And I’m grateful for the opportunity to get minutes and play in the first division.”

Kochen’s journey to Europe began not because of football, but because his mother, the head of DHL, agreed to move to the Barcelona office of Arlet’s shipping company. The second youngest of four sons, Diego was 12 years old when he moved abroad.

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He comes from a smart family: Two brothers are doctors, and the other is a sophomore quarterback studying applied mathematics with pre-med plans at Washington University in St. Louis.

“I think I’ll have to be a doctor someday,” Kochen said with a smile.

After arriving in Spain, he played for an independent football school before joining the Barcelona system – one of the best in the world for training young players.

Kochen signed his first contract at the age of 16, joined the B team for regular playing time and made many A appearances in La Liga, the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey.

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“I couldn’t process it because there’s no better feeling than being in that stadium with the fans and the players,” he said while wearing a Barcelona shirt for the first time at the famous Camp Nou. “It was absolutely crazy.”

Although he appeared in two friendlies for the A team, Koche’s hopes of playing in competitive matches were all but out of reach.

Lyngby approached Kochen and Barcelona earlier this year to fill the starting job. Lyngby is a light football year from Barcelona, ​​but the opportunity to play regularly was too much to pass up.

“To be able to grow [Barcelona’s] The system and the experiences I had in the first team, in the second team, to come up through the ranks was an absolute dream come true,” he said. “I couldn’t be more grateful to have been with them from a very young age.”

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Besides Kochen, Lyngby has another U.S. tie: The Philadelphia Union owns a 10 percent stake in the club and has signed youth players there, including 18-year-old center back Neil Pierre, who spent the last five months of the 2025-26 Danish season with Lyngby. Pierre was also invited to this US camp, which was the first with a large team.

Lyngby, a suburb of Copenhagen, are looking for their first league trophy since 1992. It’s a tough start: a 1-4-4 record for 10th place on the 12-club circuit.