Giovanni Reyna expresses gratitude for March USMNT selection.
ATLANTA — United States forward Giovanni Reyna expressed that he feels “fortunate” and “always honored” to be part of the national team after a period of limited playing time with his club.
The 23-year-old Reyna, who competes for Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga, is aiming to secure a spot on his second World Cup roster after being selected for the U.S. team in 2022.
However, recent seasons have seen him face challenges with both form and injuries. In the current season, a run of four consecutive starts prior to the winter break suggested Reyna was regaining his form. He made two substitute appearances when the season resumed, but a muscle injury sustained at the end of January kept him out for a short period, and since his return, he has struggled to re-enter the Gladbach lineup.
Since the beginning of the calendar year, Reyna has accumulated only 26 minutes across two appearances, with his most recent match occurring on January 17 against Hamburg.
This limited playing time led to Reyna being a surprising selection for the current roster for friendlies against Belgium on Saturday and Portugal three days later, as Mauricio Pochettino’s team prepares to host this summer’s World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada.
“[I] think it’s always easier when you’re playing week-in and week-out. My situation is not like that,” Reyna stated during a Zoom call with reporters. “[I’m] fortunate and of course, always honored and happy to be back in with the coach’s trust. But yeah, if the opportunity arises, I still feel very prepared to make an impact this camp on the field.”
Reyna had a strong performance during the November international window, netting the opening goal in a 2-1 victory over Paraguay and providing an assist off the bench in the 5-1 win against Uruguay. The continued confidence that Pochettino shows in Reyna is not overlooked by the player, who mentioned that he and the manager share a “great relationship.”
“I guess you could say it was sort of one of his more difficult decisions, or, I guess controversial decisions to maybe bring me in,” Reyna remarked about Pochettino. “[I] can’t appreciate it enough. Love this team, love this staff, love this group of people, so just always honored to be here. And yeah, of course, at the same time, I feel prepared, regardless of the playing time situation at club.
“So if the chance comes up in the next two games, I have confidence in myself and the team that I can do some good things and make a positive impact.”
Reyna noted that he and the entire squad have benefited from the experience of participating in the 2022 World Cup, although his conduct during the tournament nearly led to him being sent home by then-manager Gregg Berhalter. This incident ignited a dispute between families who had been long-time friends, but Gio Reyna has since moved past it and was even named the MVP of the 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League.
“I think, obviously being a part of the group in the last four years, sort of seeing how everybody’s grown individually, collectively, here at the national team, we’ve made significant progress,” Reyna stated. “I think we’ve taken a lot of lessons from the last World Cup, even though it did happen four years ago, sort of learned a lot about ourselves, and really felt like we had to mature during that World Cup as many of us were in our early 20s or late teens.
“So we hope to carry this with us and have a better performance if, of course, we all get the opportunity in the summer.”
The U.S. will commence Group D play on June 12 against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
