USMNT star Gio Reyna opens up on 2026 World Cup dreams after Mauricio Pochettino snub
Giovanni Reyna has seen his place in the US Men’s National Team slip away in recent months, struggling to earn the trust of new head coach Mauricio Pochettino and his staff since the Argentine’s appointment. With less than eight months until the start of the 2026 World Cup, the young midfielder has opened up about his dreams of returning to the national team.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Reyna shared his thoughts on the upcoming World Cup and his desire to be part of the USMNT: “I do obviously think about it pretty often as it’s somewhere where I need and want to be. But I try to focus daily here, stay present here, work here every day, and hopefully believe everything will fall into place.“
Reyna has battled injuries over the past few seasons, which have made it difficult for him to stay in Pochettino’s plans. Since the coach’s debut, the midfielder has only been called up once, for the CONCACAF Nations League Finals back in March, and hasn’t featured for the national team since then.
For the 2025–26 season, Reyna completed a move from Borussia Dortmund to Borussia Mönchengladbach in a transfer worth €4 million. After six years with Dortmund and limited playing time, the USMNT star made the switch in search of more minutes and a path back to international football.
Reyna also revealed Pochettino’s message regarding what he needs to do to earn a recall ahead of the World Cup: “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.’ It’s all on me now.”
Reyna and a 2025–26 season focused on minutes
During the 2024–25 campaign, Reyna struggled to find consistent playing time at Borussia Dortmund, while a groin strain sidelined him for several games. As a result, he fell down the pecking order, finishing the season with just 627 minutes across 26 matches, an average of 24 minutes per game.
Given that scenario, Reyna decided to move on from Dortmund, the club he joined from the New York City FC Academy in 2019. So far in the 2025–26 season, the 22-year-old has logged 120 minutes across four matches with Mönchengladbach and is gradually regaining his fitness while aiming to become a regular starter once again.