Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Gio Reyna is going to his second straight World Cup representing the United States men’s national team, according to multiple reports. On the surface, this may not seem significant, as in 2022, Reyna was looked at as one of the top young talents in the world. The last four years have not been kind to Reyna’s career though, and as he struggles for playing time in Germany others in his position, like Diego Luna, have starred in Major League Soccer. It’s a big decision for Pochettino and one that comes with a lot of questions.
While only Pochettino can explicitly say why he has taken Reyna to the World Cup, but the Argentine boss has stated that players need to be playing well for their clubs and for the USMNT to be in consideration, and that rule obviously hasn’t applied to Reyna. He’s only playing 510 Bundesliga minutes this season. When looking at Americans in the top five European leagues, 26 have made appearances so far this season, and Reyna’s league minutes put him at only 19th of those 26.
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Sometimes, no matter what a manager says, minutes go out the window. The counterargument dates to somewhere around September of 2025 to explain why Reyna can contribute on this roster. That’s when he scored against Paraguay in what felt like the running point. It’s not only because Reyna scored with a header of all things, but the mixture of what he brought to the game, and also the way that his teammates gushed with genuine joy over his return and how they liked having him on the field.
Of course, some of that is personal with players growing up with Reyna coming through the youth levels, but also, if you’re an attacker, Reyna makes your job easier with his skill on the ball and his dribbling ability. On a team void of creators, even if Reyna is coming off the bench, he can be a game-changer for Pochettino at the World Cup and is someone who also raises the ceiling of this team, while others may only raise the floor. Just look at these passing stats:
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The minutes played come as a concern, but there are plenty of ways for Reana to contribute to this squad even if he is coming off the bench, and there will also be time for Pochettino to assess his fitness in the lead-up to matches with friendlies against Germany and Senegal.
Then there’s the off-field stuff. Reyna has matured in his own right and been vocal that he would be happy to accept a place on the bench for the USMNT. In 2022, Reyna being benched led to one of the ugliest sagas in U.S. Soccer history, as Reyna’s parents, soccer legends in their own rights, were not happy with his playing time, making accusations which led to an investigation into then-coach Gregg Berhalter over domestic violence allegations, which were cleared ahead of him being re-named as the head coach of the national team.
That all seems to be in the past and with Pochettino now leading the team, Reyna opened up on being happy to contribute any way that he can to the national team. The change in approach is good to hear, and almost certainly was a necessary precursor to him getting the call.
“[I’m] just really trying to do whatever it can, whatever I can to help the team achieve something great, whether it’s starting and playing 90 minutes or just supporting from the bench and not playing at all,” he said. “I think we all have this mindset, and I think this is one of our strengths, and that can collectively bring us to have success.”
Of course, it’s down to how Pochettino uses Reya in the squad, but it’s clear that there is a plan in place for the Gladbach man and Pochettino’s World Cup success, and therefore his legacy as USMNT manager may hinge on it.
Possible USMNT roster
The roster announcement isn’t until Tuesday, and World Cup rosters aren’t official until June 2, so anything with this list could change, but this is the list that’s going to be USMNT World Cup roster according to the Guardian and other outlets.
Goalkeepers (3): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire, 0 caps/0 goals), Matt Freese (New York City, 14/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution, 53/0)
Defenders (10): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew, 18/1), Sergiño Dest (PSV, 37/2), Alex Freeman (Villarreal, 15/2), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse, 27/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC, 80/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace, 36/3), Antonee Robinson (Fulham, 52/4), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati, 38/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 24/0), Auston Trusty (Celtic, 6/0)
Midfielders (4): Tyler Adams (Bournemouth, 52/2), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps, 11/1), Weston McKennie (Juventus, 64/12), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders, 45/0)
Attacking midfielders/wingers (6): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United, 57/9), Christian Pulisic (Milan, 84/32), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 36/9), Malik Tillman* (Bayer Leverkusen, 28/3), Tim Weah (Marseille, 49/7), Alejandro Zendejas (Club América, 13/2)
Strikers (3): Folarin Balogun (Monaco, 25/8), Ricardo Pepi (PSV, 35/13), Haji Wright (Coventry City, 20/7)
