Vision House/Getty Images
Giovanni Reyna was essentially unimportant for the US Men’s National Team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. His lack of playing time appears to have been related to his efforts in his sessions training for the tournament.
A source told The Athletic’s Paul Tenorio and Sam Steiskal Reina “showed a surprising lack of effort in training” ahead of the USMNT’s World Cup opener against Wales on November 21.
During a US scrimmage against the Qatari club, Reyna was reportedly “walking around” while on the field. His performances were very poor and it was unclear whether he was trying to avoid injury or was upset that he was not named the starter for the opening game against Wales.
USMNT head coach Greg Berhalter had never beaten Reyna in the team’s game against Wales in a 1–1 draw. According to The Athletic, Reina threw down her shin guards after not attending the game, and her lack of effort in training continued heading into the team’s second group stage match against England.
DeAndre Yedlin and Aaron Long were among the veterans who spoke with Reyna, according to The Athletic, as his efforts continue to be in question. A member of the coaching staff also spoke with Reyna before apologizing to the team.
Burhalter, without mentioning the player’s name, seemed to discuss Regarding the situation with Reyna last week, he said the problem was so serious that the team almost booked him on a flight to the United States.
“In this last World Cup, there were players who clearly did not live up to expectations on and off the field. I was one of 26 players, so it stood out. As a staff, what do we do? We spent hours together thinking about this player I was ready to book my flight back home and how extreme that was. T. No more violations.
“But the other thing we said to him was that you have to apologize to the group, but you have to say why you’re apologizing.” ‘ And I had this ready for the leadership group. I said, ‘OK, this guy is going to apologize to you as a group, to the whole team.’ After apologizing, they one by one stood up and said, ‘Listen, that wasn’t good enough. You didn’t live up to our expectations of your teammates. and since that day there have been no problems with this player.
“As a coach, the best way to deal with things is to come back to your values, because it’s hard to send players home. It’s going to be a big controversy. You read about it five days in a row. But he didn’t live up to the group’s standards, so we were ready to do it, and the group was ready to do it.
Reina sub-in against England and the team’s round of 16 against the Netherlands. He did not appear in the USMNT’s final group stage match against Iran. When he was on the field, he didn’t matter much to Americans.
Keep in mind that Reyna is only 20 and still has a lot of room to grow. He will likely remain part of his USMNT for the foreseeable future, and fans will no doubt expect him to step up for his 2026 World Cup in North America.
Reina plays club football for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. He has made 3 starts in 10 games this season and scored 2 goals.
