Is Gio Reyna the most important USMNT player at Copa America?

We all know the story by now. The 2022 World Cup did not go as planned and, for much of the year-and-a-half since, Reyna and U.S. Soccer have been picking up the pieces.

Reyna's bridge to Berhalter turned out not to be burned, after a very public fallout - and thankfully for all involved. Reyna is back in the team, Berhalter is back as coach and everything is generally tracking well. Publicly, both Reyna and Berhalter have said that the past is in the past.

“We both used this time productively, to start to rebuild, to repair the relationship where we gain trust with each other again," Berhalter said last month. "It did take time, but the relationship is in a much better spot.”

With that out of the way, Reyna has been able to focus on the soccer, and the USMNT has been a vital comfort place for a player that has needed it in a big way.

Reyna's club situation has been absolutely dire. He played minimal minutes at Borussia Dortmund. He played even fewer at Nottingham Forest. It was essentially a wasted year for the 21-year-old midfielder, one that never got close to going to plan.

It hasn't slowed him down with the USMNT, though. In fact, it seems to have motivated him.

After earning Man of the Match in the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League final, Reyna exploded in October, scoring his first international brace in a 4-0 win over Ghana. Then, in the 2024 Nations League semis, he provided two massive assists against Jamaica before scoring another against Mexico in the finale, earning Player of the Tournament honors.

His performances in the Nations League, in particular, have been a perfect example of what Reyna brings to a team: the ability to change games with just one kick of the ball.

Level at one apiece in extra time against Jamaica, the USMNT needed a spark. It turned out to be Reyna, and it turned out he had more than one spark in him.

The midfielder's two assists to Haji Wright were breathtakingly perfect, the type of passes only the most creative players can make. It takes skill to not just play the balls he did, but to see them in the first place. There are few players out there with the ability, vision and confidence to make those passes happen.

That's what Reyna brings to the team. For all of his issues on the club level and for all of the nonsense that went on off the field, Reyna is arguably this team's best at simply making things happen. The USMNT has dynamic players all over the field, but there is no one better than Reyna at connecting them and, ultimately, putting them in a place to do what they do best.

Reyna is the most likely to spring Tim Weah with a line-breaking pass down the right-hand side. He's the most likely to find Christian Pulisic's run between the centerbacks. He's the player best-equipped to cross a ball onto the head of a driving Weston McKennie or to sneak a pass between defenders for Folarin Balogun to run onto.

That's all well and good, but one question remains: how do you get him on the field?

The "MMA" midfield of Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah and Tyler Adams is really good. You saw it at the World Cup. That trio went toe-to-toe with England and looked the better group - there aren't many midfields in the world that can do that.

Breaking that group up will be hard, but it may be necessary to get Reyna onto the field.

Adams' fitness makes that decision a bit easier. The Bournemouth star played even less than Reyna this season as injuries ruined his first campaign with his new club. He's not yet 90-minutes fit, but does seem like one heck of a supersub to close out a game, particularly in the first two group stage matches against Bolivia and Panama.

With that in mind, it's still not a sure thing. Johnny Cardoso has been incredible this season, showing the ability to step into that Adams role after breaking out in La Liga. He's not Adams, at least not yet, but Cardoso is one heck of a player.

Going with Reyna, though, seems to be the answer.

We'll start with the first two games against Bolivia and Panama. The USMNT will be heavily favored in both and, more than likely, Berhalter's side will possess the ball. Both Bolivia and Panama will almost certainly bunker and counter. To break that down, the U.S. will need someone to make something special happen.

Enter Reyna. He's the best pure No.10 in the pool, the one that can break down a defenses with just one pass. He's dangerous from open play, dynamic on the dribble and a weapon from set pieces, and that makes him a must-start against inferior opponents.

But what about the real tests? What about Uruguay? What about Brazil or Colombia as the tournament wears on?

Reyna showed against Brazil that he can, in fact, defend. Despite a fairly-muted attacking performance, Reyna did plenty of dirty work defensively against the mighty Selecao. It was the type of game that required that type of effort, and Reyna proved he could do it if given the chance.

Is Reyna a defensive lynchpin like Adams? Far from it. However, he isn't a defensive black hole, either.

“I've grown to like it more, for sure,” he told Yahoo Sports. “It's definitely one of the sides that I'm still working on. Of course, any attacker would say they love having the ball at their feet … but I'm kind of at the stage of my career where I do want to start playing midfield at every team I go to.”

But make no mistake, Reyna won't be on the field for his defending, particularly in those big games. He'll be on the field to help create the one moment the U.S. needs to win. And, in international tournaments, that one moment is sometimes all you get. Can Reyna be the one to make it happen? The answer to that question may be the difference between success or failure for the UWMNT summer.

The 2022 World Cup was supposed to signal Reyna's arrival. Instead, it was very nearly his downfall. Many would have had their careers ruined by what happened in Qatar. Reyna, meanwhile, has seemingly learned from it.

This summer feels like it could be his real breakout. The 2022 World Cup was his first major tournament, but that never got off the ground. This time around, there's no denying that Reyna will have a part to play, one much bigger than the one he played in Qatar.

He'll need to play it, too. For the U.S. to go deep in this tournament, they'll need everyone to raise their level. This is a group of fantastic individuals but, as of right now, the jury is out about this team as a whole. Can they come together, raise their game as a group and go toe-to-toe with the elite? We'll find out over the next month.

As for Reyna, he'll have plenty to prove. He'll be looking to show clubs that he is, in fact, a game-changer at the highest level. He'll be looking to show American soccer fans that he is the player many believe him to be, despite all of the setbacks of recent years. And he'll be looking to show the world that he's ready for the big stage after having to watch on from the sidelines the last time the USMNT was there.