The World Cup squad for co-host USA has been revealed, and surprisingly, two players from Borussia Mönchengladbach are included.
If there’s one thing Americans excel at, it’s making a grand spectacle. US Soccer’s presentation of their squad for the upcoming home World Cup was, as expected, a major fanfare. The venue was the impressive concert arena ‘The Rooftop at Pier 17’ in Manhattan, and with thousands of cheering fans in attendance, a sense of excitement built around Germany’s final tournament opponent.
The players, all present except for former Munich player Chris Richards who was at the Conference League final in Leipzig with Crystal Palace, had been informed via email on Friday. National coach Maurizio Pochettino has caused some consternation with at least two of his selections: the inclusion of Gio Reyna and Joe Scally from Borussia Mönchengladbach was somewhat surprising.
Reyna, son of former national player Claudio Reyna, is still dealing with the fallout from incidents at the 2022 World Cup. After the tournament, then-coach Gregg Berhalter revealed he had nearly kicked Reyna off the team for misconduct. Reyna’s mother subsequently reported an incident from 1991 where the coach physically assaulted his now-wife. Berhalter was initially suspended but was later cleared after an independent investigation.
Mauricio Pochettino Trusts Giovanni Reyna
However, Reyna’s nomination was far more surprising due to his limited playing time in recent years and months. Since the start of the year, he has accumulated just 137 minutes in eight substitute appearances for Gladbach. USA Today criticized, «Reyna has the talent to be a superstar, but his club performances over the last five years have been that of a benchwarmer.»
Pochettino, whose team will be the DFB selection’s final opponent on June 6th in Chicago before their World Cup opener on June 14th against Curaçao in Houston (7:00 PM), still sees Reyna as an «extraordinary talent.» The coach indicated that the 23-year-old is unlikely to be a starter, but he possesses «different qualities.» Indeed, the Argentinian emphasized, «I truly have faith in him.»
Pochettino also has faith in Leverkusen’s Malik Tillman and Reyna’s clubmate Joe Scally. Scally made the squad as midfielder Tanner Tessmann of Olympique Lyon is unlikely to be fit in time. Instead of replacing Tessmann with a like-for-like midfielder, Pochettino opted for Scally, an additional defender. ESPN noted skeptically, «an ‘unexpected’ nomination.»
USA Opens World Cup Campaign Against Paraguay
Pochettino, unsurprisingly, is «convinced that we have the best squad to be successful at the World Cup.» Leading the «USMNT» (U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team) will be former Schalke player Weston McKennie (Juventus Turin) and ex-Dortmund player Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), among others.
Other former Bundesliga professionals in the squad include Haji Wright, Ricardo Pepi, Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Adams, and Richards. And there’s Berhalter: Sebastian, a teammate of Thomas Müller at the Vancouver Whitecaps. The USA will kick off their Group D campaign on June 12th in Los Angeles against Paraguay, followed by matches against Australia (June 15th) and Turkey (June 25th/local time). However, on Tuesday evening, the US team was first welcomed to their training camp in Atlanta with much fanfare.
English Translation:
The World Cup squad for co-host USA has been revealed, and surprisingly, two players from Borussia Mönchengladbach are included.
If there’s one thing Americans excel at, it’s making a grand spectacle. US Soccer’s presentation of their squad for the upcoming home World Cup was, as expected, a major fanfare. The venue was the impressive concert arena ‘The Rooftop at Pier 17’ in Manhattan, and with thousands of cheering fans in attendance, a sense of excitement built around Germany’s final tournament opponent.
The players, all present except for former Munich player Chris Richards who was at the Conference League final in Leipzig with Crystal Palace, had been informed via email on Friday. National coach Maurizio Pochettino has caused some consternation with at least two of his selections: the inclusion of Gio Reyna and Joe Scally from Borussia Mönchengladbach was somewhat surprising.
Reyna, son of former national player Claudio Reyna, is still dealing with the fallout from incidents at the 2022 World Cup. After the tournament, then-coach Gregg Berhalter revealed he had nearly kicked Reyna off the team for misconduct. Reyna’s mother subsequently reported an incident from 1991 where the coach physically assaulted his now-wife. Berhalter was initially suspended but was later cleared after an independent investigation.
Mauricio Pochettino Trusts Giovanni Reyna
However, Reyna’s nomination was far more surprising due to his limited playing time in recent years and months. Since the start of the year, he has accumulated just 137 minutes in eight substitute appearances for Gladbach. USA Today criticized, «Reyna has the talent to be a superstar, but his club performances over the last five years have been that of a benchwarmer.»
Pochettino, whose team will be the DFB selection’s final opponent on June 6th in Chicago before their World Cup opener on June 14th against Curaçao in Houston (7:00 PM), still sees Reyna as an «extraordinary talent.» The coach indicated that the 23-year-old is unlikely to be a starter, but he possesses «different qualities.» Indeed, the Argentinian emphasized, «I truly have faith in him.»
Pochettino also has faith in Leverkusen’s Malik Tillman and Reyna’s clubmate Joe Scally. Scally made the squad as midfielder Tanner Tessmann of Olympique Lyon is unlikely to be fit in time. Instead of replacing Tessmann with a like-for-like midfielder, Pochettino opted for Scally, an additional defender. ESPN noted skeptically, «an ‘unexpected’ nomination.»
USA Opens World Cup Campaign Against Paraguay
Pochettino, unsurprisingly, is «convinced that we have the best squad to be successful at the World Cup.» Leading the «USMNT» (U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team) will be former Schalke player Weston McKennie (Juventus Turin) and ex-Dortmund player Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), among others.
Other former Bundesliga professionals in the squad include Haji Wright, Ricardo Pepi, Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Adams, and Richards. And there’s Berhalter: Sebastian, a teammate of Thomas Müller at the Vancouver Whitecaps. The USA will kick off their Group D campaign on June 12th in Los Angeles against Paraguay, followed by matches against Australia (June 15th) and Turkey (June 25th/local time). However, on Tuesday evening, the US team was first welcomed to their training camp in Atlanta with much fanfare.