'I want to be there' - Has Gio Reyna done enough to earn his USMNT World Cup spot? Even he doesn't know the answer

It's no secret that the 2022 World Cup wasn't the one that Reyna had always dreamed of. The fallout from that particular World Cup was well-noted, but even outside of that controversy, the actual on-field part of the tournament didn't go to plan either. In the end, Reyna played only 52 minutes in four games as the U.S. lost in the Round of 16 to a tough Netherlands team.

In that game, the U.S. were a bit naive, Reyna says. That winter, he admits, he was, too.

"I think just, individually and collectively, we were all very, very young and maybe a little bit inexperienced at the time," he said. "Then in the end, it's sort of just happened that we came up against a Holland team that was a little bit more experienced, a little bit better, a little bit more savvy with the game, and in the end, it was almost too much for us.

"It's a World Cup. Obviously, it's an amazing experience. I learned so much from that. Of course, I would want to play more in this upcoming tournament, but at the same time, you learn, and you're just trying to do whatever you can to help the team. This is your whole country that's fighting for something great. It’s in our home country too, so it's a dream come true just to be there. It's just about the collective. It's about the team doing it every week to do something special for our country."

Reyna returns to that point later, wanting to be a part of something special. There's no overstating what this World Cup will mean for American soccer, and there's no denying that everyone wants to be a part of it, Reyna included. His father, Claudio, was on the team in 1994 that kick-started this wave of growth in the U.S., although the legendary midfielder did not play that summer due to injury before truly emerging as a star in later tournaments.

If that's what lies ahead for Reyna, so be it. He says he's willing to be a part of it in whatever way he can.

"I'm just really trying to do whatever I can to help the team achieve something great," he said, "whether that's starting and playing 90 minutes or just supporting from the bench and not playing at all. I think we all have this mindset, and I think this is one of our strengths, and that can collectively bring us to have success."

There is a chance, though, that Reyna can be a big part of that success. This past weekend showed how.

There has never been a debate about Reyna's talent. It's been there for all to see since he broke through on the scene, first as Claudio's son and then as his own man, making his way in Europe. The issue, particularly over the last few years, is that the talent has had far too few chances to shine through.

It's why, this past summer, he left Borussia Dortmund for Borussia Monchengladbach in search of more opportunities. He hasn't always gotten them. In total, Reyna has played just 487 league minutes this season. It's more than he played last season and, with a semi-significant run out to close the season, it would be more than he played in 2023-24, too. Even so, it's less than expected, as Reyna hasn't played 1,000 league minutes in a season since the 2020-21 campaign.

That is the bad news. The good news is that he made the most of his recent minutes by scoring a late goal in Gladbach's 3-1 loss to Augsburg. It was a consolation goal, yes, but also his first club goal since January 2025. It didn't mean much in the moment, but it did in the picture. It was a sign that he might be on the right track.

"It's been a little while, but, at the end, I'm just happy to score," Reyna said. "In the end, it didn't matter too much, but more than that, it was good to get a good chunk of minutes, and I felt like I had a pretty good performance overall. Of course, it's nice to top it off with a goal, but making a little bit bigger impact and maybe turning the game around to get a tie or win would have been great, but in the end, I'm happy with my individual performance and the goal, of course."

On the national team level, his individual performances have tended to be good regardless of club form. Just this November, Reyna scored a goal against Ecuador before assisting against Uruguay, furthering his USMNT case. There have been a few positive moments between that and his goal this past weekend, but those moments will surely live in Pochettino's mind as he assesses Reyna as a potential difference-maker.

"The last couple of weeks have been very good for me to get more minutes and to have some good performances," Reyna said. "The season's coming to an end now, so hopefully we can finish strong with one more good game this weekend for the team. Individually, also, I hope to go to the World Cup and continue with the form that I feel like I'm building on, and then we'll be ready for whatever happens."

Physically and mentally, Reyna says he feels more ready than ever for that big moment. That feeling has been a long time coming.

Physically, Reyna feels good at the moment. No player is ever 100 percent, he says, given the wear and tear that comes with playing and training at a high level all year, but he feels pretty close.

"I feel ready to play 90 minutes and I feel that I can give my max at this moment in time," he said. "I guess you could say I am 100 percent. I feel very, very fit. I feel very sharp. All I really want to do is show it on the pitch."

He hasn't always had that chance, as injuries have limited his progress in recent years. Since the last World Cup, Reyna has missed 43 games due to injury. Countless others that he has been available for have been impacted by his lack of fitness. There have been few periods where Reyna has felt anywhere close to that aforementioned 100 percent.

"Of course, with these injuries, it sucks, and you never want to be injured, but I try to take what I can from each injury," he said. "Yeah, I've been a bit unlucky at times with the length of injury and timing also, but feeling good now. I’m obviously doing all I can 24 hours a day to stay fit and give all in training and recovery."

In those hard moments, he has had plenty of people to lean on. One of the people he's leaned on most is Joe Scally, who has been alongside him from youth teams at NYCFC right on through to their time as teammates with the USMNT and, now, Borussia Monchengladbach. The chance to play with Scally was a big reason Reyna signed with Gladbach. It was a chance for a fresh start alongside one of his biggest supporters.

The two have gotten even closer this year. Reyna's wife and Scally's fiancée spent time together often. Their dogs do, too. They drive together to training every day, and it's during those drives that the two can talk as friends, not as teammates.

"I would say 95 to 99 percent of our conversations are normally outside of soccer," Reyna says. "It's our personal lives. We are close friends outside of soccer, too. Obviously, we've spoken about the World Cup, but there are a lot of things that we speak about, and those obviously stay between us.  It's us supporting each other and knowing that we both want to be there. It would be great to be there together. Growing up together, playing together, and now playing in the same team, it's a great story for us and our families."

Scally added: "I don't think we've taken a day for granted. We enjoy the days on the training field, in the locker room, the car rides every day. We enjoy every day because we know that it won't last forever. We're not going to be playing together forever on the same team. "

Scally, like Reyna, is fighting for a World Cup spot. He has been ever-present with Gladbach for years, recently hitting the 150 appearance mark for the club. Both, though, face some nervy weeks ahead as they await the decision that will dictate their summer and, in some ways, their lives going forward.

In March, Pochettino was asked about the decision to call Reyna into the USMNT group for friendlies against Belgium and Portugal. That call-up came despite limited playing time but, in Pochettino's mind, it was both useful and necessary.

"That is a very talented player, and we know how he can add to the national team," the USMNT boss said. "And he is capable of performing with us. Again, I think we really know that he's a very special talent and a 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."

Now, though, the calendar reads May, which means the big decision is on the horizon. On May 26, the USMNT will unveil their World Cup roster in New York. There's still no real indication of who will and won't be there. That applies to Reyna, for sure. He is, at the moment, seemingly on the bubble, which means he's awaiting a call just like everyone else.

That call, if it comes, will answer a question years in the making. It’ll show whether Reyna’s talent is enough to outweigh his form, and whether his recent goal was enough to remind Pochettino what he can offer if given the chance. Most importantly, it’ll tell Reyna whether he’ll get the World Cup opportunity he has been chasing for as long as he can remember.

"Individually, I'm still just looking to get that much better every day," he said. "That's all you can really do."

Reyna does not have all the answers, at least not yet, but he'll be getting them soon enough.