Opinion: Reyna stuck in club and country limbo a year out from the World Cup
Lack of playing time at Borussia Dortmund has impacted the USMNT
Where is Gio Reyna?
That’s the question many U.S. soccer fans have been asking this week as both the FIFA Club World Cup and Gold Cup continue to occupy our time amid an endless marathon of matches.
Reyna was actually in New Jersey on Tuesday afternoon. I spotted him kicking balls during pre-game warm-ups at MetLife Stadium ahead of Borussia Dortmund’s Club World Cup game against Brazilian side Fluminense.
The game ended scoreless. Matching those zeros was the number of minutes Reyna played, ruining what would have otherwise been a wonderful homecoming for the 22-year-old attacking midfielder who grew up about an house away from the stadium.
It should come as no surprise. Reyna totally fell out of favor at Dortmund this past season, making only 25 appearances across all competitions. Under coach Niko Kovac, Reyna started three of 16 Bundesliga games, totaling just 341 minutes and scoring twice.
Reyna’s lack of playing time in Germany isn’t good for him or the U.S. national team. This past March, USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino admitted that Reyna was “not playing much at his club,” but that he remained an important player in the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup.
This worsening situation leaves Reyna, one of American soccer’s top prospects, potentially off the World Cup roster when the U.S. co-hosts the tournament next summer alongside Canada and Mexico. It begs the question whether every American should play in Europe (even when they don’t start) and how a lack of minutes can hamper a career.
Pochettino, for example, was unable to call Reyna up for the Gold Cup because of his commitment to Dortmund. That leaves the now-struggling USMNT without a potential attacker (at a time when star striker Christian Pulisic opted to take the summer off to rest), while Dortmund has him languishing on the bench as a seldom-used sub.
It would have been fitting for Reyna to feature in Dortmund’s first game at MetLife Stadium. Reyna was born in England when his father Claudio was playing for Sunderland. The Reyna family moved back to the U.S. and Gio grew up in New York.
Reyna wasn’t always on the outs. His ascent at Borussia Dortmund had been meteoric. Debuting in January 2020 at just 17, he became a first-team fixture, dazzling fans with his vision and composure. In the 2020–21 season, he formed a dynamic quartet of strikers with Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham.
Eventually, injuries took their toll. A brief loan spell at Nottingham Forest in early 2024 had offered some hope that Reyna could increase his playing time, but that ultimately yielded very little. Reyna featured in only 10 matches across all competitions, while failing to score.
Last summer, Reyna’s return to Dortmund was met with cautious optimism, but his role ultimately became a peripheral one. His contract at Dortmund runs through June 2026. The hope is that the team either sells Reyna or loans him out this summer.
Reyna’s flailing club career comes after he (and his parents) came under the spotlight following the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Shortly after the tournament, then-U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter admitted to almost booting Reyna from the team because he lacked commitment.
As a result, U.S. Soccer launched a probe that looked into a series of nasty allegations tied to the situation. In the end, it was determined that Berhalteer could continue to coach the team. Reyna returned to the USMNT roster, but Berhalter was fired last summer after a first round exit at the Copa America.
On the eve of the Club World Cup, Kovac said Reyna “is a part of my team at the moment. … 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.”
We now find ourselves with a USMNT that has plateaued (and in much need of offensive depth), while Reyna sits and watches from the bench.