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As the U.S. national team prepares to vie for a Gold Cup championship without him and several other regulars Sunday night against Mexico, polarizing young American and local product Gio Reyna did not get off the bench again in his supposed homecoming on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Reyna did not play at all in his Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 knockout loss to La Liga powerhouse Real Madrid in the quarterfinals of the FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium.
The talented midfielder logged only 12 minutes in Dortmund’s five matches on U.S. soil this summer, and his limited usage could lead to a transfer in the coming months to benefit his development — especially with a crucial World Cup on the horizon in 2026 for the USMNT in North America after the hiring of head coach Mauricio Pochettino last September.
Reyna’s attitude issues and lack of playing time were controversial storylines at the previous World Cup in Qatar in 2022 under since-fired coach Gregg Berhalter, who publicly clashed with the young player’s parents, including former national team captain Claudio Reyna.
With Gio Reyna, Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and others not rostered during this CONCACAF window, the U.S. squad has relied upon and received intriguing production from several emerging players during its Gold Cup run.
Diego Luna, Malik Tillman and Patrick Agyemang are among those building cases to play themselves into creative roles a year from now.
Including Saturday’s match, Reyna only saw action in Club World Cup play against South Korean club Ulsan Hyundai in the group round.
Interestingly, Dortmund had used Reyna as part of its marketing campaign for its time in the U.S.
There had been some thinking that Reyna might get on the pitch Saturday with Jobe Bellingham — whose brother Jude plays for Real Madrid — suspended for the quarters due to yellow-card accumulation.
But Dortmund manager Niko Kovac did not use Reyna for the fourth time in five games, casting further doubt about his future with the German power. It would make sense for him to seek a transfer if he’s not in the plans.
Earlier this year, Reyna said in an interview with the FIFA website that he was “excited” about the possibility of playing near where he grew up.
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“It’s one of those stadiums that I’ve watched [games in] so much growing up that it’s maybe going to be a little bit strange to actually be on the pitch there,” Reyna said of MetLife Stadium. “I’m very excited for me and, of course, all my family and friends in the area.
“I’m going to have to get a lot of [tickets]. It should be fun and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Kovac made three substitutions at the start of the second half, and another later on, but Reyna was not among them.
“Gio is a player of Dortmund [for] four or five years,” Kovac said earlier in the tournament. “He is a part of my team at the moment. Gio is for sure a player who didn’t play so much, but we know exactly his strengths, but we have top players here in the squad.
“The confidence is very big, so hopefully every player can get minutes, but I can’t promise you this is depending also on the results, also injuries, but my ambition is to give every player minutes. But this is always in relation to the results.”
