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Jeff Carlisle
Chester, Pennsylvania–503 days have passed since gio reyna Started a game for the last time US men’s national teamIt had been 602 days since he last scored for the USMNT, On a cold night outside Philadelphia, the American bomber ended both incidents 2-1 friendly win with paraguaya,
It was a performance that took a huge step forward for Reyna in his chance to secure his second consecutive world cup Squad. It’s a goal that seemed inconsistent before the match, as Reyna has only played 147 minutes for the club. borussia monchengladbach All seasons.
But U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino told Reyna during training on Friday that he would be in the starting lineup, and it didn’t take long for the midfielder to make his mark in the match.
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In the fourth minute, the ball fell in a goalmouth scramble after an American corner. max arfstonAnd Reyna nodded at her cross. The American midfielder was also involved in the sequence that led to the U.S. scoring the game-winning goal in the 75th minute when his centering feed went astray. Folarin Balogunallows AS Monaco Forward to home slot.
The USMNT’s starting tally in the match was the ninth of Reyna’s international career, moving him one ahead of his father Claudio on the USMNT’s all-time scoring list and giving the younger Reyna a bit of family bragging rights.
“I had no idea, to be honest,” Reyna said of her father’s death.
“To be honest, I didn’t even know how many goals I had, so I was happy to score, happy to be back. I sent him a few messages after the game to tease him, but he was happy for me, so it’s good.”
Reyna suffered some tremors in the night. His failure to stop the Paraguayan defender junior alonso The first domino to fall in the buildup after Paraguay’s 10th-minute equalizing goal alex arce(guard tim ream And miles robinson There is a need to get into the game faster and deeper.)
Yet they were a rarity for Reyna that night. He was engaged the entire time, delivering passes and linking up with teammates. The 75 minutes he spent were his longest in a match since 77 minutes borussia dortmund against TSG Hoffenheim On December 15, 2024.
Reyna’s lack of time with Gladbach is due to a few factors. A thigh injury slowed his progress, and he is also trying to acclimatise to a new club. And while Reyna has long been a player who didn’t need to do everything at club level to excel for the national team, he credited the support of Gladbach’s staff for helping him deliver Saturday night’s impressive performance. He said that he has reached 85% of full fitness and hopes to improve.
He said of his club, “Obviously, I had a bit of an injury that I was still recovering from over the last few weeks, but they got me fully fit and slowly got there, as you can see tonight.”
“But yes, I definitely hope to start more matches when I come back, but they’ve been great. So I think it’s a huge credit to them as well and how they’ve motivated me and believed in me and groomed me to get back to being ready to play on this stage.”
He said of his time at Gladbach, “I feel really great, feel valued, feel important, feel ready to go. So obviously, when you feel better mentally, you can definitely play better on the field as well.”
Clearly, Reyna has not dispelled all doubts about his status with the team moving forward.
Think for a second about what Reyna had to go through to get on the field for this match. Weston McKenney, Christian Pulisic, malik tillman, timothy weh And Alejandro Zendejas – Players who have appeared in attacking roles in the past, or may come in the future – all missed the match due to injury or, in McKennie’s case, Pochettino’s desire to leave McKennie back in Italy as he tries to impress the new signings. juventus Manager Luciano Spalletti.
When those players return, Reyna will have to find a way to prove to Pochettino that he still deserves to be on the field.
Another important fact is that Reyna has not yet achieved consistent success in the Gladbach lineup. Staying healthy is part of the trick to staying in the lineup, and Reyna hasn’t shown he can do that in some time. The performance against Paraguay alone cannot be seen as a success. This must be followed by another, and another, and another.
Reyna realizes this. Only 208 days are left for the World Cup to start. But he was given a rare opportunity to impress and he took it. Pochettino certainly took notice.
,[Reyna] “Confirmed that he is a player who needs to improve because he needs to play more at his club,” Pochettino said.
“But we can see today that he was great – scored and assisted – the way he always showed the ability to read the game and find the spaces between the lines. I think [he] It was a nightmare for Paraguay and I think he did a very good job.”
Reyna wasn’t the only player to benefit. In fact, the rest of this US team, which lacked enough players to field a distinct starting lineup, also performed well. In the first half, the match turned into the kind of physical contest that was reminiscent of last year’s 1-0 Copa America damage to uruguayWhich ultimately eliminated the US from the tournament.
In that match, La Celeste America was slowly reduced to dust by some brutal physical games. On this occasion, it was the US that put pressure on Paraguay bit by bit, both materially and technologically La Albirroja Eventually withered.
Tanner Tesman And Brandon Aaronson Played a key role in tilting the field further in favor of the USMNT. Constant pressure was being applied to the winner of the game, in this case by the substitute diego lunaDue to which the ball initially went to Balogun, who played the ball towards Reyna. The goal was soon accomplished, ending a night for Balogun in which he had to face some huge challenges that arose only at a crucial moment.
For Ream, the key to how the U.S. ends matches can be found in how it starts them.
“I think it starts with being aggressive from the first whistle, and kind of just putting up a marker and making the other team understand that we’re here to fight, we’re here to play, we’re here to win a game and we’re not even going to take that as friendly behavior,” Ream said.
This was evident in Paraguay’s stoppage time gustavo gomez and American protector alex freeman There was a scramble for the ball as the whistle blew as the Americans threw-in, leading to a bench-clearing melee. Incredibly, Paraguay received only one red card. Omar AldereteWho did not even play in the game was released. But it was another example of how this American team is not backing down from anyone.
“There were some cheap shots from them, to be honest,” the American goalkeeper said. matt freeze,
“But that’s part of being a team, and we’re going to stick up for each other no matter what the moment, whether it’s the end of the game, the beginning of the game, being on the sidelines like this in the middle of the game. That’s what it means to be a team, and I don’t think I’ve ever gotten there that quickly.”
America, undefeated in the last four matches, is in a steady rhythm. With each passing game, there is more cohesion and an increased understanding of what Pochettino wants. American managers have been successful in making American players comfortable with being uncomfortable, and that is not going to change.
“Big credit, but it’s not enough,” Pochettino said.
“We are happy. We need to keep going because we have to improve, improve, improve and reach our best, our peak at the World Cup. And this shows that it is not about the name, it is about the team, it is about the collective, it is about the overall idea.”
Uruguay, a team with its ethos of physicality and grit, combined with ability (it had one). 0-0 draw against Mexico Same night), next one is on Tuesday. Reyna in particular feels ready to leave and will be eager to prove that she is back for good.
