Reyna will miss the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup as he joins Borussia Dortmund’s roster for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. Although Reyna has not solidified his spot as a starter for the USMNT under Mauricio Pochettino, his absence marks a significant blow. Especially due to the key players’ absences that leave Max Tillman without a strong replacement.

Giovanni’s absence is unfortunate as this tournament could have offered him a prime chance to establish within the USMNT roster. All this because several key players will be absent, which could have granted him more minutes. However, he has not capitalized on similar opportunities lately due to a dip in form. He has even become a rotation player in Borussia Dortmund, appearing in only 25 matches during their 2024–25 season.

FIFA Club World Cup 2025 gives Giovanni Reyna a key chance to prove himself at Borussia Dortmund

After Christian Pulisic left Borussia Dortmund, Giovanni Reyna quickly rose as a promising star for the German side. He shone in his first two seasons and displayed remarkable potential. However, his performance dipped significantly afterward, costing him his place in the starting lineup. Reyna’s loan stint with Nottingham Forest in the Premier League during the 2023-24 season did little for his career. He appeared in just nine matches and failed to find the back of the net.

Returning to Borussia Dortmund for the 2024-25 season, Reyna has yet to meet expectations. Nevertheless, the demanding nature of upcoming fixtures in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 could offer him a chance to carve out a role in the team rotation. This opportunity would allow him to reignite the creative brilliance that once captivated top-tier soccer in 2019.

Borussia Dortmund’s first match in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025

Borussia Dortmund will debut in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup on June 17. They will face Brazil’s Fluminense. The Brazilian team poses a formidable challenge, so Giovanni might not play extensively in this match. However, he could play a more significant role on June 21 as Dortmund meets South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns or South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai on June 25.

Gregg Berhalter with few answers sent in Gio Reyna, who has not played much at both Borussia Dortmund and Nottingham Forest this season, and the USMNT prodigy showed that his lack of playing time is baffling as well as frustrating.

Reyna connected twice with Haji Wright for a deceptive 3-1 scoreline in extra time to lift the USMNT amid a lot of frustration about the team’s lack of cohesion since Berhalter returned.

After the game, Reyna spoke to Doug McIntyre of Fox Sports and for the first time ever spoke about the incident between himself, his dad, and Gregg Berhalter, both as a way to clear the air and finally move on.

Gio Reyna opens up about ReynaGate

After providing two assists and quieting all the naysayers Reyna took a question that was on everybody’s mind, his relationship with Gregg Berhalter. “Obviously what happened, happened… “I think both of us are so far past it and just so focused on the group that it’s not even an issue at all anymore. We’re just so far past it.”

Since Reyna and Berhalter reunited it has been Reyna who has saved Berhalter’s beacon, first being man of the match in a win over Ghana and on Thursday saving the day on what would have been a catastrophic result for the USMNT looking ahead to the Copa America.

While the US will play Mexico on Sunday for the Nations League final, questions on the team’s lack of good performances have begun to haunt Berhalter who moves to a 5-3 underwhelming record since his return.

Despite the poor play Berhalter has positioned himself and the team to win their third Nations League in a row, and if the US does indeed win the Concacaf Nations League, Berhalter would tie Bruce Arena as the USMNT’s all-time winningest coach (titles) with three.

Giovanni Reyna recently played for the USMNT during the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals, but sadly he will not be present at the 2023 Gold Cup but the good news is that they already have players to replace Reyna.

The USMNT is the host team but the top players like Gio Reyna, Sergiño Dest and others will not be available to play at home, although with the roster they have available it is more than enough to consider as favorites.

In 2016 it was Giovanni’s first game with the USMNT, on that occasion he played with the U-15 scoring his first 7 goals for the nation. He played for the Men’s national team in 2020 and so far he has 4 goals in 20 appearances.

Why was Giovanni Reyna not called up for the 2023 Gold Cup?

Giovanni Reyna will not be playing for the USMNT in the 2023 Gold Cup and the reason behind his absence is that he was one of the winners of the recent Nations League and therefore was granted special leave of absence from the Gold Cup.

Instead of Reyna other midfielders like James Sands, Cristian Roldan and Djordje Mihailovic will be covering his position, they have enough experience playing with the USMNT not to depend on Reyna.

Reyna has been playing in Germany for three years with Borussia Dortmund where he is considered one of the most lethal midfielders in the Bundesliga with 79 appearances and 13 goals since 2020.

It’s not gonna be easy. UEFA and CONMEBOL are the only confederations with countries which have won the tournament. In fact, the list is very small: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Germany, Italy, France, England and Spain. That’s it.

The first step for the USMNT is to develop a young generation of players. One of them has been the extraordinary Giovanni Reyna. Though the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup was a perfect preparation for him towards 2026, there are important reasons why he won’t participate.

FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023: Why is Gio Reyna not playing with the United States?

Giovanni Reyna won’t participate in the FIFA U-20 World Cup as he is currently playing for Borussia Dortmund in Germany. His club is in a tremendous fight with Bayern Munich to conquer the Bundesliga for the first time since 2012.

In fact, after a very controversial Qatar 2022 World Cup with first team, Gio Reyna has been dazzling coach Edin Terzic with his performances for Dortmund. They’re just one point behind Bayern in the race for the title.

Though Giovanni Reyna hasn’t been a starter with Borussia Dortmund, the 20-year old midfielder is one of the most reliable substitutes during the last weeks. That’s why his club won’t give permission for him to be at Argentina with the USMNT.

After the World Cup, Berhalter shared information in a private conference about Gio Reyna’s behavior, this in turn resulted in Gio’s parents, three-time World Cup veteran Claudio Reyna and Mother Danielle being at the center of filtering a domestic violence incident from Berhalter’s past involving his future wife Rosalind.

The report issued by Alston & Bird LLP now shows that Claudio Reyna had systematically contacted many officials within US Soccer from 2016-2022 discussing his children and their treatment within the program.

Reyna-Berhalter scandal investigation complete

The investigation concluded the following:

• Both Claudio and Danielle Reyna had contacted then Sporting Director Earnie Stewart via phone call on December 11th 2022, reporting that Gregg Berhalter had hit his wife Rosalind back when they were in college at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus.
• Stewart had told the Reyna’s that he would have to report the incident to his superiors.
• Stewart also mentioned to investigators that the Reyna’s “were not intending to make this information public,” but “they were thinking about starting to spread the story to others privately.”
• Stewart concluded that it was the intent of the Reyna’s that Gregg Berhalter not be hired by US Soccer for a second term.
• When questioned Berhalter admitted to the incident in question, he also admitted he had told many on the UNC campus and sought counseling afterward.
• Rosalind Berhalter confirmed what happened with her future husband and told women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance.
• Danielle Reyna at first did not want to answer any questions from the investigators but eventually admitted that she was “in a very upset state” over her son’s limited playing time.
• Claudio Reyna had told then USMNT GM Brian McBride that “You guys don’t even know what we know about Gregg.”
• Claudio Reyna refused to be interviewed and triedto negotiate with the investigators, no negotiation ever took place.
• Gregg Berhalter went through at least two background checks before the 2022 World Cup.
• Claudio Reyna between the years of 2016-2022 had consistently texted or called various members of US Soccer in a “inappropriate,” “bullying,” and “mean spirited” tone regarding issues relating to his children, but more focused on Gio Reyna.
• The issues stemmed from red cards given to his son, referees assigned to his son’s matches, and son’s lack of playing time at various moments of his youth national team career.
• Berhalter admitted that during the U-17 World Cup, Claudio Reyna texted him belittling the USA’s U-17 coach.
• From 2019-2020 Claudio Reyna had complained about Gio Reyna’s treatment, travel arrangements, and coaches.
• Gio Reyna showed a poor attitude during training at the FIFA World Cup even before the team’s opening match against Wales.
• Berhalter admitted that “There were 150 people in the Friends and Family program at this year’s World Cup. All were having a great time except for five people who were absolutely miserable. Those five were cursing, acting horribly. It was the Reynas.”
• Brian McBride admits that once he took over as GM of the USMNT he immediately began to receive complaints from Claudio Reyna on an array of issues.

The final verdict

US Soccer has issued the following statement regarding the complete findings of the report:

“U.S. Soccer’s process for determining who will serve as Sporting Director is ongoing, and interviews are underway. The Sporting Director will lead the process of determining who will serve as head coach of the Men’s National Team. Given the investigators’ conclusion that there is no legal impediment to employing him, Gregg Berhalter remains a candidate to serve as head coach of the Men’s National Team.

The report also identifies a need to revisit U.S. Soccer’s policies concerning appropriate parental conduct and communications with staff at the National Team level. We will be updating those policies as we continue to work to ensure safe environments for all participants in our game.”

You can read the complete report by Alston & Bird LLP here.

Pulisic has only played 605 minutes for The Blues, but before his injury the World Cup veteran had started his last two games. In the UEFA Champions League, Pulisic only played in 4 games, playing as a starter in only 1 of them.

Now against Borussia Dortmund, Pulisic will be on the bench most likely against fellow USMNT teammate Gio Reyna who will also most likely be a substitute in their second leg round of 16 clash in the UEFA Champions League.

Chelsea – Borussia Dortmund leg 2 preview

Chelsea will be playing at home against Dortmund who are in the lead in the series 1-0. Chelsea has had a miserable season as a whole, stuck in 10th place in the Premier League and winning 1 of their last 5.

Borussia Dortmund are tied for 1st in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, while Union Berlin and RB Leipzig are only three and seven points back in one of the most exciting races in Germany in years.

For two of the USMNT’s best players it has been seasons to forget, Pulisic has been injured more often than not and barely starting for Chelsea when fit. For Gio Reyna the fallout of ReynaGate with the USMNT continues to be a dark cloud, while at the club level after scoring three goals off the bench, the talented creative midfielder has suddenly and inexplicably not played for Dortmund in their last three league matches.

Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Chalobah, Koulibaly, Fofana; James, Kovacic, Fernandez, Chilwell; Sterling, Havertz, Felix

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Meyer; Wolf, Sule, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro ; Ozcan, Can, Bellingham; Brandt, Haller, Reus

Gio Reyna’s benching at the FIFA World Cup led to the USMNT coach’s personal history with his wife of over 20 years being exposed to a public forum that already was hostile towards him. In the end no one wins, and US Soccer looks even worse than it ever has as a ‘club of friends,’ absent executives, and disgruntled players mismanaging the situation every which way.

Lost in the mudslinging were the good things the USMNT showed at the World Cup, and brought to the forefront are all of the problems US Soccer has. Here is a timeline of the events that has given US Soccer yet another blackeye.

Gregg Berhalter scandal timeline of events

November 21, 2022 – The USMNT draws Wales 1-1 in their opening match of the FIFA World Cup, one glaring omission in the match was that Gio Reyna did not play, raising questions regarding the health of the talented midfielder who already had injury issues prior to the World Cup.

In the post-game press conference Berhalter implies that Reyna was battling an injury, in the press zone Reyna says he was ready to play and that his omission was a coach’s decision.

November 25, 2022 – Reyna plays only seven minutes in the 0-0 draw between England and the USMNT. Once again questions arise about Reyna’s role on the team.

November 26, 2022 – Amid inconsistent responses on the health and playing situation of Gio Reyna, former USMNT striker turned pundit Eric Wynalda claims Berhalter asked Gio Reyna to lie about his injury status to squash talks of a “rift” between player and coach. The Reyna family was not happy with the situation, and this caused a huge backlash from fans and pundits.

November 29, 2022 – The USMNT defeat Iran 1-0 and go through to the round of 16, during the team celebrations at the hotel Gio Reyna is filmed as being indifferent while walking through the rest of his teammates who were celebrating.

December 3, 2022- The USMNT is eliminated from the FIFA 2022 World Cup in the round of 16, 3-1, against the Netherlands. The World Cup is deemed a marginal success, Gio Reyna plays only 51 minutes of the USMNT’s four matches and is the biggest talking point of the tournament.

December 6, 2022 – At a HOW Institute for Society’s Summit on Moral Leadership in New York, Gregg Berhalter speaks to those in attendance and mentions how a player during the 2022 World Cup was not being up to par with his actions off the field and in traning. Gregg Berhalter claims things got to a point where the player’s antics and attitude led to a vote among his staff to see if said player was kicked out of the squad mid-tournament.

Berhalter would later mention that the player in question eventually apologized for his offenses and was allowed to stay with the team and the incident was “squashed”.

Almost immediately pundits and fans assume the player is Gio Reyna and the statements are made public on December 11th.

December 11, 2022 – That same day the Reyna camp issued a statement where Gio Reyna owns acting immature at the tournament but also takes Gregg Berhalter at his word that “things that happen in the locker room stay in the locker room.”

December 14, 2022 – Reyna’s club Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund releases a statement standing by their player.

December 31, 2022 – Gregg Berhalter’s contract officially ends as USMNT head coach but according to reports conversations are ongoing to remain at his job.

January 3, 2023 – Gregg Berhalter and US Soccer release a statement, on the one side the “current” head coach reveals that during the World Cup tournament “someone” contacted US Soccer to reveal a domestic violence incident that took place when the coach was 18 where he kicked his future wife in the legs at a bar. Berhalter in his statement alludes that he indirectly was being “blackmailed” and that the information was provided to remove him from his position as coach of the USMNT.

US Soccer releases a statement that they are looking into the matter and have hired a law firm to investigate.

January 4, 2023 – ESPN and other journalists reveal that the persons who offered up the information on Gregg Berhalter wereDanielle and Claudio Reyna, but their intentions was not to “blackmail” Berhalter.

According to various sources and reported by ESPN, Danielle Reyna was the person who informed US Soccer of an incident between Gregg Berhalter and his future wife Rosalind where the coach of the USMNT kicked his future wife in the legs when they were 18 years of age at a bar. A statement issued by the Reyna family states that, “I want to be very clear that I did not ask for Gregg to be fired, I did not make any threats, and I don’t know anything about any blackmail attempts,” Danielle Reyna stated on her behalf.

Gregg Berhalter himself took to Twitter to issue a statement where he said the information was an attempt to have him removed from his position asUSMNT coach, the manager is currently out of contract and was negotiating with the federation. Things between Gregg Berhalter and the Reyna family hit a fever pitch when it became apparent during the 2022 World Cup that Gregg Berhalter was not going to give Gio Reyna substantial minutes on the field due to what was cited as “inappropriate behavior” in the national team camp.

The relationship between the Berhalter and Reyna families

It has been reported by various former players and pundits of the USMNT that the Berhalter and Reyna families were “very close”. Both Claudio Reyna and Gregg Berhalter played youth and high school soccer together and were USMNT teammates going back to the 1995 Copa America in Uruguay where the USMNT came in fourth. Danielle Reyna and Rosalind Berhalter were teammates at the University of North Carolina women’s soccer team.

Danielle Reyna told US Soccer authorities, which included Earnie Stewart, about the incident in December of 2022 after Berhalter made public the issues surrounding the benching of her son Gio Reyna during the World Cup. Although Gio Reyna was not mentioned by name by Berhalter at the HOW Institute for Society’s Summit on Moral Leadership in New York conference, it was heavily implied to be Gio Reyna the player in question he used as his example and it forced club Borussia Dortmund to issue a statement as well. Claudio Reyna, who works as the Sporting Director of Austin FC in MLS issued a statement supporting his wife.

“While in Qatar, I shared my frustrations about my son’s World Cup experience with a number of close friends, Earnie (Stewart) and Brian McBride (GM of the USMNT program) among them. However, at no time did I ever threaten anyone, norwould I ever do so.”

At the moment all US Soccer has commented on is that Anthony Hudson will lead the US men’s national team at the January camp against Serbia (1/25) and Colombia (1/28). Austin FC, where Claudio Reyna works, have not issued a statement and neitherhas Borussia Dortmund, club where Gio Reyna plays for and, who publicly defended their player when the allegations of his poor conduct during the World Cup became public.

The recent spat between Gregg Berhalter and Gio Reyna started when inexplicably Gregg Berhalter spoke indirectly about the matter at the HOW Institute for Society’s Summit on Moral Leadership conference. After stating that one of his 26 players was not seeing eye to eye with the coach and was almost sent home until a staff, not player, vote took place to keep him at the tournament.

Almost immediately pundits from all over the world stated that the player in question was Gio Reyna, and now it is confirmed that it was. Gio Reyna released a statement that is sure to continue the controversy for some time to come.

Gio Reyna’s statement on World Cup incident with Gregg Berhalter

“I hoped not to comment on matters at the World Cup. It is my belief that things that happen in a team setting ought to remain private. That being said, statements have been made that reflect on my professionalism and character, so I feel the need to make a brief statement.

Just before the World Cup, Coach Berhalter told me that my role at the tournament would be very limited. I was devasted. I am someone who plays with pride and passion. Soccer is my life, and I believe in my abilities. I fully expected and desperately wanted to contribute to the play of a talented group as we tried to make a statement at the World Cup.

I am also a very emotional person, and I fully acknowledge that I let my emotions get the best of me and affect my training and behavior for a few days after learning about my limited role. I apologized to my teammates and coach for this, and I was told I was forgiven. Thereafter, I shook off my disappointment and gave everything I had on and off the field.

I am disappointed that there is continuing coverage of this matter (as well as some highly fictionalized versions of events) and extremely surprised that anyone on the U.S. men’s team staff would contribute to it. Coach Berhalter has always said that issues that arise with the team will stay “in house” so we can focus on team unity and progress. I love my team, I love representing my country, and I am focusing now only on improving and growing as a soccer player and a person. I hope that going forward each person involved in U.S. Soccer focuses only on what is in the best interest of the men’s national team so we can enjoy great success at the World Cup in 2026.”

According to the Athletic, Gio Reyna has been identified as the player in question where Gregg Berhalter mentioned that one player on his 26-man roster was almost booted out the team. Gregg Berhalter spoke at the HOW Institute for Society’s Summit on Moral Leadership and stated, “In this last World Cup, we had a player that was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field… One of 26 players, so it stood out. As a staff, we sat together for hours deliberating what we were going to do with this player. We were ready to book a plane ticket home, that’s how extreme it was. And what it came down to was, we’re going to have one more conversation with him, and part of the conversation was how we’re going to behave from here out. There aren’t going to be any more infractions.”

It was reported that Gio Reyna had not trained with enthusiasm upon learning he was not going to start in the World Cup opener against Wales in Qatar and held a bad attitude during the tournament and eventually was called out for it by the team and staff. There have been conflicting reports that Reyna and USMNT captain Tyler Adams had to be pulled apart during a training session.

Gio Reyna and his future on the USMNT

Gregg Berhalter went on to state that the player in question, all are reporting it as Reyna, did apologize to the staff and team and would eventually play 45 minutes against the Netherlands in the round of 16 to go along with only seven minutes against England in the group stage. Upon his return to Borussia Dortmund, Reyna did score in a friendly match as the European club seasons are set to kick off after the World Cup.

For Gio Reyna it is a black eye to the legacy his family has at the national team level, especially for Claudio Reyna who represented his country in three World Cups. Claudio was team captain for two of them and in 2002 was named to the World Cup all-tournament team, the first American to do so.

While extremely talented Reyna was just getting back from injury when Berhalter took the player to the tournament in spite of his injury history, but by no means was he a out and out starter and the USMNT had learned to play without Reyna leading up to the tournament, getting the most from Tim Weah and Brenden Aaronson during that time.

For Gregg Berhalter it could be viewed as a certain vindication of his decision to sit Reyna at the tournament, but also could also be an indirect message that his time as coach of the USMNT is coming to an end.

While Reyna will surely be back on the national team at some point, his standing on said squad took a severe blow as Reyna was seen as a future leader on the USMNT.

While Gregg Berhalter has to make a big decision in the coming weeks, Reyna mustrethink his train of thought during one of the most important moments of his playing career, it’s hard to blame Gregg on this one, and shocking to see that kind of response from a kid whose last name is Reyna on the USMNT.

While Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi are without any doubt the biggest legends that have played for La Albiceleste, the country has produced many other stars throughout history.

However, some players who weren’t born in the country also had the opportunity to represent Argentina. For instance, Gonzalo Higuain, who committed to La Albiceleste instead of France. At Qatar 2022, however, there was a player who could have chosen Argentina and barely saw the field with his team.

Giovanni Reyna chose USMNT over Argentina

USMNT young star Giovanni Reyna admitted ahead of the 2022 World Cup that he could have played for other nations. He was born in England toAmerican parents Claudio and Danielle, while his grandfather Miguel is Argentine and grandmother Maria is Portuguese.

“There were opportunities in other countries, but for me it was pretty clear I wanted to play for USA the whole time,” Reyna said in a press conference when asked whether he received calls from Argentina, England or Portugal. “It’s flattering when those other countries get interested and contact you, but for me it was USA the whole time.”

Reyna committed to the US long ago, though things didn’t go that well for him in Qatar. It wasn’t until the second half of the Round of 16 that Gio tookthe field, when his team lost to the Netherlands.

Argentina, on the other hand, are on track for a deep run in the tournament.Using this World Cup Predictor, you can see every potential outcome of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Enjoy all the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup matches from the United States through FuboTV. Click here and to take advantage of their 7-day free trial offer.