We now know why Gio Reyna played for just 52 minutes during the United States men’s national team’s journey to a round of 16 ousters from the World Cup, a little over a week after it was eliminated.
USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter mentioned an anonymous player who he claimed had commitment concerns in remarks at the HOW Institute for Society’s Summit on Moral Leadership that were subsequently published by Charter works (and which U.S. Soccer believes were supposed to be off-the-record).
“We had a guy in this past World Cup who was clearly not living up to expectations on and off the field,” Berhalter said. “It stood out since it was one of 26 players. We spent several hours as a staff discussing our options for handling this player. The situation was so bad that we were prepared to purchase an airline ticket home. The decision was made to have one more conversation with him, during which we will discuss our future behavior. There won’t be any more transgressions.”
The Athletic claims that Reyna was the target of those remarks because he put in little effort in practice before the tournament’s opening match against Wales, which resulted in little playing time for him. It peaked when Reyna, who was an inactive substitute against Wales, threw his shin guards out of frustration.
Reyna wasn’t used in that game, according to Berhalter, who also claimed that the Dortmund star will be eligible for the team’s second game against England. Muscle pain was mentioned as the reason for this. Reyna did participate in the game, but only for the final seven minutes that sealed the draw. These remarks undoubtedly aid in explaining the disconnect since Reyna declared himself fit after Wales, which caused the confusion to be in full swing.
It resembles Weston McKennie’s punishment for violating COVID protocol during World Cup qualifying at this point. McKennie was suspended for two games following that incident, returned to the team, and quickly established himself as one of the National team’s most crucial players.
And I prepared the leadership group with this, telling them, “OK, this guy is going to apologize to you as a group, to the whole team,” according to Berhalter. “But the other thing we said to him was, you’re going to have to apologize to the group, but it’s going to have to say why you’re apologizing. It’s going to have to go deeper than just, ‘Guys, I’m sorry.'”
And I used this to prepare the leadership group. Berhalter stated, “And what was amazing about this whole affair is that after he apologized, they stood up one by one and said, ‘Listen, it hasn’t been good enough.’ I said, ‘OK, this man is going to apologize to you as a group, to the whole team. They really took charge of the process, saying things like, “You haven’t been living up to our expectations of a teammate, and we want to see improvement.” There were no problems with this player after that day.
Reyna nearly avoided being kicked from the squad by a vote of 13-12, according to Jason McIntyre, because things became that terrible.
Here’s the story I alluded to on the herd and talked more about on the podcast. One thing I didn’t reveal yet that isn’t in the story – the vote to send Reyna home was 13 stay, 12 go home 😳😳
Sources: US almost sent Reyna home from WC https://t.co/VqLpsLQkLk
— Jason McIntyre (@jasonrmcintyre) December 12, 2022
What’s crucial to take away from the second Berhalter extract is that Reyna’s problems ended after things reached their peak. He played 45 minutes against the Netherlands despite the fact that we are unsure of the exact time that was awarded. These teaching opportunities are crucial for Reyna, a 20-year-old Dortmund player, and it’s noteworthy to note that after returning to the team, he went on to score in a friendly.
Although it would have been fantastic to see more of Reyna during the World Cup, it’s understandable that Berhalter kept him out of things considering that there were other problems off the field that caused strife among his colleagues.
Former American international Eric Wynalda brought highlighted Reyna’s lack of playing time, and there was a clear discrepancy between Berhalter’s public comments that Reyna wasn’t nearly fit after the Wales match and Reyna’s own statements that he was alright. Given these fresh remarks, it appears that Berhalter chose to shield Reyna rather than criticize her lack of effort in public.
It raises significant concerns about the program’s survival since the revelation is coming out so soon after the summit Berhalter spoke at. After this, it will be crucial to monitor how Reyna recovers, to begin with.
However, Berhalter’s position with the national team is still up in the air, so there could be scenarios in which he manages a group that includes Reyna. McKennie can serve as Reyna’s role model for how to get beyond these problems. But regardless of the coach, it seems Reyna, who is only 20 years old, has some work to do in order to get back on the same page with his teammates considering the problems that obviously surfaced in Qatar.
