Jeff Carlisle
Multiple Authors
United States manager Mauricio Pochettino said that Gio Reyna is a “very special talent,” which is why he was willing to look past the player’s lack of playing time at club level and name him to the USMNT roster for upcoming friendlies against Belgium and Portugal.
Reyna has logged a total of 26 minutes playing with club side Borussia Monchengladbach since the start of 2026, and hasn’t played at all in the last two months due in part to a muscle injury. But Pochettino said he was impressed by Reyna’s performances during the November international window, when he scored the opener in a 2-1 win over Paraguay, and added an assist off the bench in a 5-1 triumph over Uruguay.
“I think Gio was fantastic in November with us,” said Pochettino on a Zoom call with reporters after the announcement of the U.S. squad. “I think everyone praised him in his game against Paraguay, and then in the way that he was involved and committed with the team.
“And with the national team, I think I was really happy with the aspect and the factor that he was involved.”
Given that the window is the last opportunity for Pochettino to see players up close before the World Cup roster is announced in May, the U.S. manager said he was willing to take a chance to see what level Reyna is at.
“Before the last decision for the last roster for the World Cup, I think it’s good to see players that maybe are not playing too much, like in that case of Gio,” Pochettino said. “But that is a very talented player, and we know how he can add to the national team.
“And he is capable to perform with us. Again, I think we really know that he’s a very special talent and very special player. And I think to give the possibility, even if it’s not playing too much in his club, it can be very useful for us.”
Pochettino added that judging when to bring in a player is “an art” because every single player is different and can add different things to the team.
“We cannot follow some rule because I think it’s not fair to judge all in the same way,” Pochettino said. “I think the most important, [is] what the player can add to the team and it can be the right player to help to perform [for] the team.
“That is why we don’t follow exactly the rule in all the players exactly in the same way, because all are completely different; different character, different profiles, different quality, different talent. And that is most important is to try to find, to detect the right selection, but to be very, very close to performing the way that we perform in the last two comp.”
Both friendlies this month will take place in Atlanta, with the U.S. playing Belgium on March 28 and Portugal on March 31.
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