Giovanni “Gio” Reyna entered the 2022 FIFA World Cup as one of the United States men’s national team’s (USMNT) most promising young talents. At just 21 years old, the attacking midfielder was expected to be a key contributor for the team during the tournament held in Qatar. However, Reyna’s World Cup experience was far from the breakthrough many had anticipated. Instead, his performances were overshadowed by controversy surrounding his commitment in training, as well as a tense dispute involving his family and the then-USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter.
Now 22 and recently transferred to Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, Reyna is determined to revive his career, which has been hampered by a string of injuries over the past several years. With the 2026 World Cup set to be hosted on US soil, Reyna sees the upcoming season as a critical opportunity to prove his fitness, form, and value to the national team under new coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Reflecting on the fallout from the 2022 World Cup, Reyna candidly acknowledged that he would handle certain aspects of the episode differently if given the chance. Speaking to the Associated Press at his new club, he emphasized that the conflict was not entirely his fault or that of his family. Instead, the tensions arose primarily from his frustration over limited playing time during the tournament. Reyna had been a regular contributor for Borussia Dortmund prior to the World Cup and was eager to translate that form into significant minutes on the world stage. Unfortunately, he appeared in only two matches off the bench in Qatar.
The controversy intensified when Berhalter publicly revealed after the tournament that a player—later identified as Reyna—had nearly been sent home due to a perceived lack of effort during training. Adding to the situation, Reyna’s parents, Claudio and Danielle Reyna, both former US international players themselves, engaged with the US Soccer Federation (USSF) to advocate for more playing time for their son. Furthermore, they contacted the federation regarding a decades-old domestic violence allegation involving Berhalter and his wife Danielle, who was once a college roommate of Reyna’s mother. These actions contributed to an already strained relationship between the player’s family and the coaching staff.
Despite the bitterness of the past, Reyna appears keen to move forward. He stressed that his frustration during the World Cup stemmed from a pure desire to contribute to his country and compete at the highest level. “At the end of the day, I was just upset that, you know, I wasn’t really playing. I was playing at Dortmund. I thought that I wanted to play at the World Cup and ultimately in the end, I didn’t do that, and that’s really what it stemmed from,” he explained. He also noted that the incident is “so far removed now and so far in the past” that he prefers not to dwell on it further.
Reyna’s current focus is on making a strong impression at Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he joined during the recent offseason. The move reunited him with US teammate Joe Scally, a development Reyna described as “the cherry on top.” Unfortunately, injuries have plagued his career in recent years, limiting his ability to establish consistency and momentum. During his final three years at Borussia Dortmund, Reyna was often used as an impact substitute and was even loaned out to Nottingham Forest, where he struggled to secure regular playing time. Since March 2022, he has not completed a full 90-minute league match, and his appearances for the US national team have been similarly limited, with only one cap since the 2024 Copa América.
At Gladbach, Reyna’s fitness challenges have continued to restrict his involvement. He has featured in just four of the club’s first eight Bundesliga games this season, often coming off the bench rather than starting. Nevertheless, he views even substitute appearances as an improvement over his previous season’s inactivity. Reyna recognizes that with only four US friendlies scheduled before the pre-World Cup training camp, his best chance to earn a spot on the national squad lies in his performances at Gladbach.
“I think Pochettino was very clear with saying, ‘You need to play, perform and then if you do that then you have a good chance to come in again,’” Reyna said. “It’s all on me now.” This statement underscores Reyna’s awareness that the responsibility to