USMNT star Gio Reyna sets 'eight good months' target in bid to grace home World Cup

Game time has been in relatively short supply again for the 23-year-old this season, with Reyna failing to start a game at club level since suffering a 4-0 defeat to Werder Bremen on his Gladbach debut on September 14. He has taken in five substitute appearances since then.

He was, however, drafted into the latest United States squad and opened the scoring early on in a 2-1 friendly victory over Paraguay. Reyna is reminding those in the international arena what he is capable of, with there only 26 World Cup spots up for grabs heading towards next summer.

Reyna is desperate to fill one of those, but accepts that he needs to deliver on a consistent basis in Germany in order to earn the right to grace a major tournament on American soil. He is determined to do just that, having endured a testing time at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

Reyna told reporters after registering his first international goal since March 2024: "I knew it was an opportunity for me to show that I belong here. He [Pochettino] has been great with me all week, working with him, and yeah, just trying to give me the freedom and the confidence to sort of be myself. So I can't thank him enough, obviously, for the start and just for the relationship that we've really built this camp.

"In the end, it’s performances like this that can help everybody here. I want to have, more importantly, seven or eight good months in the rest of the season with Gladbach, and then I believe if I keep performing like I did tonight, then I'll have a good chance to make the team and have an impact there too."

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Pochettino was pleased with what he saw from Reyna at Subaru Park against Paraguay, with the Argentine tactician saying: "So happy with him. He showed why he started. And he has confirmed that he's a player that needs to improve, because he needs to play more in his club, but we can see today that he was great. The capacity to read the game and find the free space in between the lines, I think that was a nightmare for Paraguay."

Leeds playmaker Brenden Aaronson was another to be given an opportunity to impress in Pennsylvania, having endured selection issues of his own, and he was delighted to see Reyna take his chance.

He said of Reyna remaining an important part of the USMNT as a so-called ‘Golden Generation’ looks to deliver on expectations: "He always shows up for the national team. Gio’s one of my best friends in football. We grew up playing against each other for a long time. I know the kind of player he is, and I'm just really happy for him. He deserves it. He’s been through a lot with injuries, with all this stuff, but whenever he plays for the national team, he's always there, and it's awesome to see."

Reyna made his senior international in 2020, the day before his 18th birthday, and has reached 33 senior caps. He would have expected to pass a half-century in that department by now, with frustrating fitness issues holding him back on a regular basis.

There is no doubting his ability, with the USMNT requiring somebody to provide a creative spark in the final third, and patience has been shown with him by a number of coaches. A change of scenery at club level, having severed ties with Borussia Dortmund, could serve him well - with Reyna under contract at Gladbach through to the summer of 2028.