MEXICO CITY – When Giovanni Reyna made his World Cup qualifying debut for the US men’s national team in their Concacaf Octagonal opener last September, even the most pessimistic observer could scarcely have imagined it would be more than six months before his second qualifier.
Quick, skillful, brash, Reyna had become a regular starter for the Yanks over the course of 2021, highlighted by a key goal in the dramatic Concacaf Nations League final win over Mexico. The Borussia Dortmund wunderkind was one of the top-rated performers in that 0-0 draw at El Salvador on Sept. 2, an appearance that made him the second-youngest USMNT player to start a World Cup qualifier, at 18 years, 293 days of age.
As had been the case since he was in middle school or so, shining for New York City FC’s academy sides, the future seemed incredibly bright for Reyna. His trajectory suggested a very real possibility he could go on to match or even eclipse the achievements of his father Claudio, a USMNT captain and World Cup star during his own distinguished playing career who now works as Austin FC’s sporting director.
Then his hamstrings hijacked all that.
A sequence of soft-tissue strains became a pattern, then a chronic issue that sidetracked him for months, with crushing setbacks and all too much time on the sidelines at a critical phase not only in his individual development but for club and country as well. All he could do was watch, work and wait.
That wait may finally be over, and just in time for arguably the biggest match in all of North American soccer: An El Tri-USMNT qualifying battle at the vaunted Estadio Azteca on Thursday (10 pm ET | Paramount+, UniMas, TUDN, CBS Sports Network).
“It was really hard being out, just not playing for that amount of time, just in general – not necessarily not with the national team but just in general not playing,” Reyna told reporters in the USMNT’s Tuesday media availability from Houston.
“But of course, important qualifier games, it was tough. I was staying up late, 3, 4 am, watching the games in Germany. It definitely motivated me to try to be back as soon as possible. Of course, it took longer than I would have wanted.”
Reyna has returned to availability just in time for the Yanks, a particularly vital reinforcement given the lengthening injury list that includes Weston McKennie, Sergino Dest and Brenden Aaronson. He worked the full 90 minutes for Dortmund vs. FC Köln in Bundesliga action over the weekend, his longest outing since the European season’s opening weeks, and could prove a decisive weapon as the USMNT look to hold their nerve through the final three matchdays of the Ocho and book passage to Qatar.
“I just want to help the group – I know I can help the group, just with my playing and just being here,” Reyna said on Tuesday.
“I’ve built up a lot of strength over the last two months, three months. So yeah, I’m pretty confident in my body at the moment. But it was great to get 90 minutes before coming into camp. It gave me a huge boost of confidence knowing that I can do it now. So we’re going to see.”
There’s a psychological factor here as well. Reyna is well-liked among his teammates and has shown comfort with the trash talk and mind games that inevitably accompany this bitter rivalry matchup. He nodded slyly in that direction on Tuesday.
“We’re just looking forward to this game. We have a lot of experience that we’ve gained just throughout the last year or so, with playing a bunch of Concacaf teams,” he said. “So we’re prepared. The main goal is to get to the World Cup and I’m confident we can do that.
“We’re ready, we’re excited and we’re up for, I guess, all the things that rivalries bring.”
There’s the question of Reyna’s physical capacity for minutes, and then there’s the matter of where and how he’s used. To date, Berhalter has mostly deployed him as a winger in his 4-3-3 formation, yet both player and coach dropped hints that he might get time as a central attacking midfielder.
“I wouldn’t rule out Gio being able to play there, the issue is just his rhythm, his fitness and his game time in these last five months,” said Berhalter. “Eventually I think it’s a position he can play and we’ll have to see if it happens in this window.”
Reyna himself thinks, “No. 10 is probably my best position, where I grew up playing,” though Berhalter’s system usually treats the twin attacking midfielders more as No. 8s expected to cover ground and impose themselves physically.
“I can play either, I’ve done it for Dortmund, I’ve done it here, too,” said Reyna of a central role. “So we’re open to a lot of things. We have to wait and see what the plan is for the game and obviously the lineup. But we’ve talked about it. It’s definitely a possibility, but it’s definitely a possibility to play on the wings, too.”
Given the crushing re-aggravations he’s suffered, a strong sense of caution lingers around Reyna’s status in this international window. Dortmund are surely quite keen to see him return in good shape, and the player himself cautioned that “I’m definitely going to be managing in some sort of way … we’re going to be smart with it.”
He might well be limited to a supersub role in all three matches, and almost surely so in the high-altitude opener vs. Mexico at Estadio Azteca on Thursday. Afterward, Panama (March 27) come to Orlando's Exploria Stadium before the 14-game Octagonal slog concludes March 30 at Costa Rica.
“I guess the main thing was probably just fitness,” said Reyna of his return to normal routines. “It still probably needs a few more weeks until I’m 100% fit in terms of running 90 minutes consistently… I was out for a long time so I understand that I’ve just got to take it one day at a time and just try to improve.”
Still, any Gio is a welcome Gio for Berhalter.
“I had a good call with Dortmund [manager Marco Rose] today, and planning out his usage and how much we think we can use him,” the USMNT coach said of Reyna when he released his roster last week. “The important thing is us qualifying for the World Cup, first of all, but secondly, is Gio returning healthy to his club. And we’re mindful of his load, we’re mindful of the work that he’s done in the last couple of weeks, and we’re going to adjust accordingly.”
