Gio Reyna is ‘really hoping and wanting’ to make the U.S. World Cup team
The attacking midfielder scored his first goal for a club team in 480 days over the weekend. His talent has kept him in the World Cup race, but will there be enough production to earn a spot?
When Gio Reyna scored his first goal in a club soccer game in 480 days over the weekend, it was instinctive to say that it came at a good time. The U.S. World Cup squad will be announced in less than two weeks, and Reyna is in a fierce competition to earn one of the 26 spots.
But, really, any time over that span would have been a good time. Even as Reyna’s great talent led U.S. men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino to exempt him from the demand that national teamers play regularly for clubs, that drought was pretty glaring.
Since moving within Germany’s Bundesliga to Borussia Mönchengladbach over the summer, Reyna has just that one goal, plus one assist in December. He has spent just 554 minutes on the field across 19 games.
On pure merit, it’s sometimes been hard to say Reyna deserves a place on the World Cup team, a point even he admitted when he returned to the U.S. fold in March.
From the outside, it currently feels like he has done just enough. So what does he think? There was a chance to find out on Tuesday, when he sat for an online news conference with U.S. media from his club home overseas.
“If I say no, I’m not backing myself, and then if I say yes, it’s the arrogant answer where I feel like I should be there,” Reyna said. “So it’s a hard question to answer.”
That was a pretty good answer from the 23-year-old, and a sign of his maturity these days.
» READ MORE: Gio Reyna knew his return to the USMNT in March was 'controversial'
“I love the staff; I love the players. I love the national team,” he said. “Obviously, whatever happens, happens. Really hoping and wanting to be there to make an impact and achieve something great with the team, but the decision is out of my hands. I’m obviously just really hoping and waiting for the call-up — [it] would be would be an honor.”
The goal he scored Saturday was a late consolation tally in a 3-1 loss at Augsburg. In that respect, it probably mattered more to U.S. fans than it did to most other watchers. But as Reyna noted, his 32-minute run as a substitute was his longest outing in a club game since December. That mattered a lot to him, too.
“In the end, [the goal] didn’t matter too much, but more than that, it just was good to get a good chunk of minutes, and it felt like I had a pretty good performance overall,” he said. “Of course, it’s nice to top it off with a goal, but making a little bit bigger impact and maybe turning the game around to get a tie or win would have been great. But in the end, I’m happy with my individual performance — and the goal, of course, too.”
Mönchengladbach plays its Bundesliga season finale on Saturday, at home against Hoffenheim (9:30 a.m., ESPN+). There isn’t much at stake for Reyna’s club, which is comfortably mid-table but well out of the race for next season’s European tournaments. (Hoffenheim has quite a bit at stake, as a win could put it in the Champions League.)
» READ MORE: Why U.S. Soccer’s new national training center will matter long after the World Cup
Then, Reyna will have just over a week before heading back to the state in which he grew up, New York, for the May 26 World Cup squad announcement.
“Obviously, I think it’s on everyone’s mind,” he said. “No spot is guaranteed or safe — so, yeah, it’s simple. I want to be there. … Obviously, you think about it pretty often, but [I] try not to let it sort of take over my day and stress me out too much. But it is in the back of my mind, like I’m sure [for] many other players.”
Nine nations will compete in five group stage matches this summer, plus two more in a knockout game on July 4. Here’s what you need to know about those countries — and what those fans need to know about Philly. Click here for more.
