Gio Reyna named to Gregg Berhalter’s USMNT roster

On Thursday, Berhalter announced his 23-man roster for friendlies against Germany and Ghana. And Reyna was on it.

The 20-year-old attacker has played for the U.S. team since the World Cup but under interim coaches while the U.S. Soccer Federation weighed whether to rehire Berhalter, whose contract expired Dec. 31.

Berhalter began his second tenure last month without Reyna, who was injured. Back on active duty for German club Borussia Dortmund, Reyna was available for this camp. The question was whether the player and coach had settled their differences enough to work together.

Berhalter said they spoke via Zoom a few weeks ago.

“The conversation was positive,” Berhalter said in a call with reporters. “I was really just appreciative of the conversation. Acknowledging that, I think it will take time. There is a difference between a Zoom call and being in person, but both intentions are positive. And the idea is we work together for the team to be successful, and I think we’re both prepared to do that.”

Reyna has not commented on the situation. He is scheduled to report to camp after Dortmund’s match against Union Berlin on Saturday.

The spat with Berhalter began in Qatar, where Reyna played sparingly. At the time, Berhalter did not provide specific reasons. At a private event a few days after the U.S. team was eliminated, Berhalter said, without naming Reyna, that one player was almost sent home from the World Cup.

When the transcript was made public, Reyna’s parents fumed. Behind the scenes, Danielle Reyna, his mother, told the USSF that Berhalter had abused his now-wife, Rosalind, when they were students at the University of North Carolina. Without naming the Reynas, Berhalter said publicly that he was being blackmailed.

Berhalter and Claudio Reyna, Gio Reyna’s father, had been close friends and teammates since they were young. Danielle and Rosalind Berhalter also had a long-standing friendship.

The USSF launched an investigation into the abuse case and the behavior of the Reyna parents. A subsequent report found Berhalter had not done anything that would prevent him from remaining a candidate for the coaching job. He was rehired in June.

Before the September camp, Berhalter said he had yet to clear the air with Reyna. Last week, however, Matt Crocker, the USSF’s sporting director, said the two had finally spoken and Reyna was on course to join the squad for these friendlies.

The U.S. team will train in Nashville all next week, travel to East Hartford, Conn., ahead of the Oct. 14 friendly against Germany, then return to Tennessee for the Oct. 17 match against Ghana.

Because of injuries, Reyna has not played a minute for his club or country since the Concacaf Nations League final against Canada on June 18. He has, though, been in uniform for Dortmund the past two Bundesliga and two UEFA Champions League matches.

“How many minutes can we give him on the field that he can build up in a safe way and then go back to Dortmund and really propel him to make a big impact for his club?” Berhalter said. “So we’re going to be creative with the minutes. We want to certainly get him on the field.”

Reyna was among 13 players from the World Cup squad named to this month’s roster. Others include Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tim Weah.

Nineteen players from last month’s friendlies against Uzbekistan and Oman were recalled, including forwards Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi.

Kristoffer Lund, a Danish-American left back who last month received his first call-up, was invited back. So was Kevin Paredes, the former D.C. United homegrown winger from South Riding, Va. He made his senior debut against Oman.

Lennard Maloney, a German-American defensive midfielder who starts for Heidenheim in the Bundesliga, is the only first-time call-up. He has played for both German and U.S. youth national teams.

Injuries continue to sideline World Cup captain Tyler Adams and forward Josh Sargent. In addition, Antonee Robinson, the stalwart left back, was left out because of a possible hernia and center back Mark McKenzie fractured a toe.

Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest).

Defenders: Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven), DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo), Tim Ream (Fulham), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), Joe Scally (Mönchengladbach).

Midfielders: Johnny Cardoso (Internacional), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Lennard Maloney (Heidenheim), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven).

Forwards: Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Tim Weah (Juventus).