Gio Reyna, Gregg Berhalter 'aligned' on goals for USMNT after 'positive conversation'
It was probably never realistic to expect the relationship between U.S. men's national team coach Gregg Berhalter and young star Gio Reyna to be perfect immediately given the drama that has engulfed the pair since last year's World Cup in Qatar.
But the process of repairing whatever damage was done could go a long way toward determining how well the U.S. does at the 2026 World Cup on home soil, and it had to start somewhere. That undertaking began in earnest last month, when Berhalter and Reyna finally connected, over Zoom, for the first time since the former was rehired as the national team boss in June.
"It was, first off, [a] positive conversation," Berhalter said Thursday during a video conference with reporters shortly after he named Reyna to the Americans' 23-player roster for friendlies this month against Germany and Ghana. "For us, it's about aligning on how we're moving forward. And I think we did that."
Berhalter declined to get into specifics about what exactly the two men discussed, saying that the substance of their conversation would remain private. But he did acknowledge that the chat was just the first step toward getting back on the same page with Reyna, who he's known on a personal level long before the player burst onto the USMNT scene three years ago at the tender age of 17: Berhalter and Reyna's father, Claudio, where high school and then national team teammates and their families became close — their wives were college roommates — before an ugly falling out between the two clans exploded into public view following the World Cup.
"I think it will take time," Berhalter said. "There's a difference between a Zoom call and being in-person, but I think that both intentions are positive. And the idea is that we work together for the team to be successful. And I think we're both prepared to do that. So, I think that although it may take some time, we're both aligned with what we want to accomplish."
How much Reyna, 20, can help the U.S. squad this month remains to be seen. One of the brightest young talents in program history, Reyna starred as the U.S. won the CONCACAF Nations League title in June under interim coach B.J. Callaghan. But after setting up both U.S. goals in the final against Canada, he was forced out of the eventual 2-0 win with was what later determined to be a broken leg.
Reyna hasn't played a minute for his country or club side Borussia Dortmund since, though he recently returned to full training with the German titan and has served as an unused substitute in the Black and Yellow's last three games, including Wednesday's scoreless tie with AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
The objective, according to Berhalter, is to "build him up, build his minutes up that he goes back to Dortmund in a better place, and using him on the field in a way that he can return to Dortmund ready to go," Berhalter said. "We're gonna be creative with the minutes. We want to certainly get him on the field."
Where exactly on the field is another burning question. With heart-and-soul defensive midfielder Tyler Adams sidelined for the Nations League semis and finals, Reyna occupied a central attacking role in front of the deeper lying Weston McKennie and Yunus Musah. Adams would've been included in this camp, Berhalter revealed Thursday, had he not suffered a setback after seemingly recovering from the hamstring injury he originally sustained last March.
Still, even with Adams unavailable, Berhalter wouldn't rule out deploying Reyna on the wing, the same spot he filled throughout the 2022 World Cup cycle, while also giving him the freedom to roam inside.
"In terms of Gio, we see him being able to play three positions: center midfielder, attacking midfielder and winger," the coach said. "We use wingers in different ways. Sometimes the wingers are wide against the line and sometimes they're in between the [opponents' positional] lines.=
"We see him as more between the lines winger," Berhalter said of Reyna. "Those three positions, he can be utilized in."
Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men's and women's national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
