NEW YORK — Four years ago, when he was named to the United States’ 26-man roster for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, it was no surprise to Gio Reyna.
Then a 19-year-old prodigy with German titans Borussia Dortmund, the only question was whether the son of former U.S. World Cup captain Claudio Reyna and former women’s national team attacker Danielle Egan would start in Qatar or provide a spark off the bench.
A lot has happened since then. Reyna, rather famously, hardly played. He’s also hardly played over the years since, as a series of injuries has limited him to just a handful of cameo appearances over the last four European club seasons. That includes the just-concluded 2025-26 campaign, his first with Borussia Mönchengladbach, during which Reyna started only four of the 19 matches he appeared in and scored only one goal.
Gio Reyna is heading to his second World Cup. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images)
Still, most close observers of the national team felt that on a team that lacks creativity, Reyna’s past performances with the U.S. squad — in November, he scored minutes into his first start under coach Mauricio Pochettino — would probably be on the Argentine’s roster.
Reyna wasn’t so sure. He was sitting next to his wife when the email arrived confirming that he was headed back to the World Cup, then immediately called his parents and let them know.
“We were all anxiously waiting, hopefully for good news,” Reyna said Tuesday after he was announced as part of the USA’s final squad at FOX’s roster reveal event on Pier 17 in Lower Manhattan.
A balmy afternoon in New York took on a concert-like mood with 25 of the 26 players selected in attendance, walking onto a grand stage in front of rowdy USA supporters. Each player wore identical dark grey suits with the U.S. Soccer crest stitched onto the jacket pocket, waving the red-and-white striped jerseys they will be adorning this summer.
In his post-reveal press conference following the star-spangled festivities, U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino – equally decked out in a sharp suit like his players — detailed why Reyna was one of his choices.
“Gio has an amazing talent and experience, too … He can add different things to the team…he can help, because he’s a different player, different talent,” Pochettino explained. “I think in all the rosters, you need to have a player like him.”
The USA’s World Cup squad, joined by rapper Gunna in New York City. (Photo by Ira L. Black/USSF/Getty Images)
Reyna is one of 13 holdovers from Qatar — exactly half the squad. For newcomers like forward Alex Zendejas, reaching the pinnacle of soccer is the culmination of a life-long dream.
“I actually started crying when I found out,” said Zendejas, who survived the cut despite not being involved in Pochettino’s three most recent camps dating to last fall. “I couldn’t believe it. I was super shocked and grateful.”
But Pochettino had him on the radar all along, ever since he scored the game-winning goal in a friendly against Japan last September.
“Alejandro is a player who, for us, always represents a wealth of possibilities,” Pochettino said in his native Spanish. “I believe he is the only player we have with a true wide-player profile, yet he is also capable of playing as an interior midfielder.
“He has an eye for goal,” Pochettino continued. “He communicates exceptionally well with the rest of his teammates, with whom he shares a very strong rapport. He generates a great deal of positive energy. I consider him a fascinating player from a tactical standpoint—specifically regarding the tactical flexibility we seek to incorporate, and the immediate contributions he can make on the pitch.”
Alex Zendejas was one of the more surprising picks for the squad. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
Zendejas’ case was probably helped by Diego Luna’s lingering injury issues this MLS season. But the Liga MX standout also brings intangible qualities to the table. Those helped him, too.
“Another crucial factor to consider is that this is a tournament that hopefully will span nearly two months of living together in close quarters,” said Pochettino. “It’s vital to look beyond just the technical quality I’ve been discussing; players must also possess that human quality, that character, so that they are not only capable of performing on the field, but also capable of providing support and encouragement off of it.”
Yet while 26 players received World Cup invites when the emails went out last Friday, the 29 others on the 55-strong provisional roster submitted to FIFA earlier this month had their dreams shattered instead.
Asked why midfielder Tanner Tessmann was passed over, Pochettino declined to discuss the reasons behind that omission or any other, saying that it was disrespectful to those who he did select. Poch claimed that the final few decisions had been so agonizing that he literally couldn’t sleep at night in the weeks leading up to the announcement.
“Still today, I cannot enjoy the 26 guys who are in front of me,” he said, “Because I’m thinking of the players who are out.”
