24MAR

Reyna dropped from USMNT squad projections

1 min read

19:01UTC

Gio Reyna has not returned to the Borussia Monchengladbach bench following a muscle injury. Multiple projections now drop him from Pochettino's 26-man squad.

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Key takeaway

Reyna's Monchengladbach bench return before 26 May is the last data point Pochettino's staff will have on him.

Gio Reyna has not returned to the Borussia Monchengladbach bench following a muscle injury, and multiple projections now drop him from the USMNT's 26-man squad ahead of Mauricio Pochettino's 26 May announcement .

Reyna's situation is the clearest live example of the five unresolved selection problems ESPN detailed on 13 April. His club minutes have been the throughline of every US World Cup squad conversation since his 2022 break with Gregg Berhalter, and a muscle injury that keeps him off the matchday 18 at Borussia-Park is the sort of data Pochettino's staff cannot contradict with a mid-April friendly because there is no mid-April friendly. The next USMNT window is 31 May against Senegal in Charlotte, the day after the 26-man squad is submitted.

That sequencing is what moves a fitness question into a selection one. The Senegal fixture cannot audition a borderline player into the squad; it can only confirm or contradict the list already sent to FIFA. Reyna's return to a Bundesliga bench in the next ten days is therefore the last data point Pochettino's staff will receive on him before the cutoff, which makes every Monchengladbach team sheet between now and the squad submission a public selection signal he cannot influence from Los Angeles.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Gio Reyna is a 22-year-old American footballer who plays for Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany's Bundesliga. He has suffered recurring muscle injuries and has played only five minutes of club football since January 2026. The USMNT head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, must name a 26-player squad on 26 May for the home World Cup. Reyna was previously considered one of the US team's most technically gifted players. Multiple projection models and sports media outlets now list him as likely to miss the squad entirely. With no competitive matches available before the 26 May announcement and only two friendly windows in late May and early June, Pochettino has almost no data on which to base an inclusion decision.

Sources:SBI Soccer

Mentions:FIFA →Senegal →World Cup →USMNT →Los Angeles →Germany →Gregg Berhalter →Gio Reyna →Borussia Mönchengladbach →Mauricio Pochettino →

First Reported In

Update #8 · Three clocks running against kickoff

SBI Soccer· 19 Apr 2026

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Causes and effects

Caused by

Pochettino sets 26 May USMNT squad call with five gaps

Pochettino's five unresolved selection problems, confirmed this week, include Reyna's fitness, making his absence from the Borussia Mönchengladbach bench a direct selection pressure.

Occurred 13 Apr 2026

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This Event

Reyna dropped from USMNT squad projections

The USMNT's most talented creator is trending out of the home tournament as the 26 May squad cutoff narrows, with no competitive window left for a selection audition.

Different Perspectives

Brazilian Football Confederation

Carlo Ancelotti's CBF named a 55-man preliminary squad on 9 May including Neymar, absent since October 2023, with the final 26 announced 18 May. Rodrygo and Militão were ruled out; the inclusion of Neymar serves both the coaching staff's tactical options and CBF's commercial interests in the home-continent cycle.

Confederation of African Football

CAF issued no public statement on the $15,000 visa bond affecting five qualified African nations, named by Al Jazeera on 5 May. Per BBC Africa Sport, CAF privately encouraged federations to use bilateral diplomatic channels rather than issue a collective protest, reflecting the body's institutional dependency on FIFA's commercial framework.

Giovanni Malagò / Serie A

Malagò reached 48% confirmed FIGC assembly bloc on 10 May after Lega B and Lega Pro signalled support, driven by Serie A clubs' need for parliamentary access to three debt-reduction reforms. A pre-vote majority before the 13 May declaration deadline would make the 22 June election ceremonial.

Football Supporters Europe / Euroconsumers

The Article 102 TFEU complaint filed on 24 March remains unacknowledged by DG COMP 18 days past the procedural deadline; MEP Brando Benifei and 24 colleagues filed a parliamentary question E-001336/2026 demanding an explanation from the Commission.

Human Rights Watch

HRW's 11 May deadline for host cities to publish rights action plans passed with 12 of 16 cities non-compliant. HRW disputes FIFA's position that internal submission satisfies the transparency requirement, arguing fans cannot read what protections their city have committed to.

UNITE HERE Local 11

Filed NLRB and California AG complaints naming FIFA on 8 May, describing a SoFi Stadium strike as 'pretty realistic'. The filings follow five weeks of FIFA non-response to its April letter and test whether a Swiss event organiser can be bound by US employment and privacy law through its licensee chain.