As of 13 April 2026 Reyna had played only five minutes of club football since January. Pochettino named his fitness as one of five unresolved selection questions ahead of the 26 May squad announcement.Source: ESPN reporting, April 2026

What club does Gio Reyna play for?

Gio Reyna is on loan at Nottingham Forest from Borussia Dortmund.

What are Pochettino's World Cup selection problems?

ESPN confirmed five unresolved USMNT selection issues: Gio Reyna's fitness, Tyler Adams's fitness, an open centre-back competition, an unresolved midfield pairing, and an undecided 4-back vs 5-back system.Source: ESPN, April 2026

Background

Gio Reyna is a professional attacking midfielder who plays for Nottingham Forest on loan from Borussia Dortmund. Born 13 May 2002, he is the son of former USMNT captain Claudio Reyna. He made his senior USMNT debut in February 2021 and scored at the 2022 World Cup. His career has been repeatedly interrupted by hamstring, knee, and muscle injuries across multiple seasons, making availability the defining challenge of an otherwise high-ceiling talent.

Reyna spent the spring of 2026 as the most acute fitness question in Pochettino's squad: projections dropped him from the 26-man list after he failed to return to the bench at Borussia Mönchengladbach following a muscle injury in April. Pochettino included him regardless on 26 May, a bet on a player he has rated consistently. That bet was validated on 31 May 2026: Reyna made his first USMNT start since November 2025, lining up in central midfield alongside Tyler Adams in Pochettino's 4-3-3 as the US beat Senegal 3-2 in Charlotte.

The selection doubt is resolved. Reyna is fit, in the XI, and given a central rather than wide role, a significant signal from Pochettino about how he intends to use him against top-tier opposition. Whether his body holds across a full tournament remains the open question: at 24, he has never played a sustained run of high-intensity football without interruption. The World Cup on home soil, beginning 12 June vs Paraguay at SoFi, is the chance to finally demonstrate what he can do across multiple weeks.