The US national team coach, Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, confirmed that calling playmaker Gio Reyna to the March camp represents a golden opportunity for the player to prove his ability to regain his usual level before the start of the 2026 World Cup.
The Athletic network reported that Reyna’s call-up was part of a list of 27 players announced by the US Soccer Federation, even though the player had only participated in 28 minutes with his team, Borussia Mönchengladbach, since the beginning of 2026.
However, Pochettino believes that the player’s high skills deserve to be given a new opportunity to prove himself.
The Argentine coach said: “Gio is a very talented player and a special player. Even if he does not play much for his club, this is an opportunity to show that he can be useful to us again.” Pochettino based his decision on the positive experience in the international training camp last November, when he surprised everyone by inviting Reina as well. Then, the player was able to score a goal after only four minutes of participating in the match against the Paraguay national team, and he also made a goal in the following match against the Uruguay national team.
Pochettino added: “Gio was great with us in November. His commitment and performance with the national team were excellent.” Despite the promising start that followed the November camp, where he started four matches during the month of December, Reyna later returned to the bench due to the negative results achieved by the team. Then he suffered a thigh injury that kept him out of action, and since then he has only participated as a substitute without getting more minutes.
It should be noted that the player did not score or make any goals with the German clubs for which he played for more than a year, whether with Mönchengladbach or with his former team, Borussia Dortmund. On the other hand, Pochettino expressed his concern about the absence of a number of key players due to injury before the start of the international camp, led by: Haji Wright, Tyler Adams, and Sergiño Dest.
The coach explained that Adams suffers from a thigh muscle injury that may cause him to be absent for a period of between two and three weeks. On the other hand, Pochettino downplayed the importance of the decline in the level of team star Christian Pulisic with his club Milan this year, after he failed to score or assist any goal during the year 2026 so far. He said: “I do not measure a player only by the number of goals. Christian performs well and plays constantly, and this is the most important thing.”
