Gregg Berhalter Names Gio Reyna on USMNT Roster After Family Saga

The U.S. manager revealed that he recently spoke to the Borussia Dortmund winger for the first time since the 2022 World Cup drama.

After a family feud that thrust the U.S. men’s national team into chaos, USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter has named Gio Reyna in his latest team.

The 19-year-old was named on the USMNT’s 23-man roster ahead of October friendlies with Germany and Ghana, signaling the rebuilding of bridges after an infamous winter.

After Reyna struggled for playing time at the World Cup, Berhalter told a leadership conference following the tournament that he almost dismissed an unnamed player in Qatar for not meeting expectations. The transcript from the private event set off a chain reaction that resulted in Reyna’s mother informing U.S. Soccer of a domestic violence incident between Berhalter and his now-wife from their college days, Berhalter saying he was being blackmailed and a U.S. Soccer investigation that cleared Berhalter and allowed him to remain eligible in the coaching search that eventually saw him reappointed. 

Berhalter said Thursday that he had spoken to Reyna, who had played under interim USMNT coaches since the World Cup, via Zoom for the first time since the saga before calling him into the team. 

“I’d say that the conversation was positive,” Berhalter said in a press conference. “I was really just appreciative of the conversation and having said that you know acknowledging that I think it will take time. It’s a difference between a Zoom call and and being in person.

“But I think that both intentions are positive and the idea is that we work together for the team to be successful and I think we’re both prepared to do that.”

Reyna (right) played just 52 minutes at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.  :: IMAGO/Matthias Koch

After Reyna missed Berhalter’s first camp back in charge due to injury, the manager said he hopes to get Reyna steady minutes so that the midfielder can return to Dortmund with momentum after not playing a single minute so far this season. 

The most notable absence for the U.S. is USMNT captain Tyler Adams, who is expected to miss significant time after suffering a recurrence of a lingering hamstring injury. 

Here is the USMNT roster for the October camp.

Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest)

Defenders: Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven), DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo), Tim Ream (Fulham), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace, Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

Midfielders: Johnny Cardoso (Internacional), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Lennard Maloney (Heidenheim), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven)

Forwards: Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Tim Weah (Juventus)