Gio Reyna Scores in Dortmund's First Preseason Friendly

Reyna tallied Dortmund's opening goal in its first preseason match in Switzerland.
Gio Reyna Scores in Dortmund's First Preseason Friendly
Gio Reyna Scores in Dortmund's First Preseason Friendly /

Giovanni Reyna is wasting little time in making his case for a greater role with Dortmund's first team next season.

Reyna, the 17-year-old American, scored Dortmund's first preseason goal on Wednesday against Austrian club Rheindorf Altach in what wound up being a 6-0 win. It came as the result of some Dortmund pressure, with a turnover caused by new signing Jude Bellingham immediately being turned into an opportunity. 

Bellingham, the 17-year-old former Birmingham City standout, played it to 20-year-old Erling Haaland, who found Reyna to his left unmarked. The U.S. international calmly finished with his second touch to make it 1-0 in the 14th minute.

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Reyna, who was subbed off at halftime as part of a complete line change by manager Lucien Favre, made 15 appearances in the Bundesliga and 18 in all competitions, scoring one goal (and a sensational one at that) in his first runout with the Dortmund first team.

He's part of Dortmund's latest core of rising stars, joining the likes of Haaland, Bellingham and 20-year-old Jadon Sancho, who sporting director Michael Zorc said would be staying with the club this season despite rampant reports of transfer interest from Manchester United.

Dortmund will also be playing Austria Wien on Sunday in Switzerland before concluding this portion of its preseason. The new Bundesliga season is not slated to start until Sept. 18. 

Dortmund is coming off a second straight second-place finish to Bayern Munich, which has won the league eight straight times.


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Avi Creditor
AVI CREDITOR

Avi Creditor is a senior editor and has covered soccer for more than a decade. He’s also a scrappy left back.