"It doesn't matter to me any more. I want to score a goal to help this team win." Gio Reyna is done talking about Qatar, and honestly, that might be the most useful thing he's said in four years.
The backstory is well-documented at this point. In 2022, Reyna nearly got sent home by then-coach Gregg Berhalter over his attitude in training. That spat escalated into something far uglier when Reyna's mother — former US women's international Danielle — reported a 1991 physical altercation between Berhalter and his then-girlfriend, now wife. Berhalter was cleared after a federation investigation, but the reputational damage lingered on all sides.
Pochettino's call, and why it raised eyebrows
New coach Mauricio Pochettino included Reyna in the squad anyway, and not everyone agreed with the pick. The 23-year-old has made just eight Bundesliga appearances for Borussia Mönchengladbach since January — all off the bench. That's not a form player. That's barely a matchday squad player.
Still, Pochettino clearly sees something worth betting on. Technically, Reyna remains one of the most gifted attacking options available, and the US are set up in a winnable Group D alongside Australia and Turkey, with Paraguay first up on Friday. If he can string together 60 minutes of the quality that made him a prospect in the first place, the gamble pays off.
Reyna himself credits maturity — his own and the squad's. The 2022 US side was the second-youngest at the tournament, with most players 23 or under. "I think last World Cup, maybe we were all just a little bit young," he said. Four years and hard lessons later, he expects those margins to close.
Whether he can actually influence games after such a thin run of club football is the real question. The narrative is tidied up. The fitness picture is murkier.
