United States Men's national Soccer Team News

Gio Reyna reappears after 153 days in Borussia Dortmund's loss to Bayer Leverkusen

The American saw action for the first time in five months after coming on in the 60th minute of Borussia Dortmund's loss to Bayer Leverkusen.

By Hector Garcia

07/02/2022, 12:03 AM

The American saw action for the first time in five months after coming on in the 60th minute of Borussia Dortmund's loss to Bayer Leverkusen.

The long-awaited day for Giovanni Reyna arrived this Sunday, as after five months of inactivity due to a hamstring injury, the U.S. international made his comeback with Borussia Dortmund.

More USMNT News:

Who is Luca de la Torre, the player who appeared against Honduras with the USMNT?

As expected, Sunday's match against Bayer Leverkusen was the stage for the USMNT international to make his comeback after more than four months, but his long-awaited return was not as desired.

With the aim of giving Dortmund a different look, Reyna came on in the 60th minute to replace Thorgan Hazard but could do little to reverse the score, which ended with a painful 5-2 win for the Aspirins.

During the 30 minutes that Gio Reyna was on the pitch at Signal Iduna Park, he was involved, but at times the lack of rhythm was evident due to the long period of inactivity.

However, the positive aspect of the U.S. international's return is that he could be available for Dortmund's upcoming Bundesliga and Europa League matches, where he could regain his best form and aim for a return with Team USA in the final stretch of the Octagonal qualifying campaign for Qatar 2022.

"Gio Reyna is like a new signing for us"

One of the most enthusiastic about the imminent return of the North American youngster is coach Marco Rose, but Michael Zorc, the German team's sporting director, is also looking forward to Reyna's return, describing him as a new signing for the team.

"Gio is almost like a new signing for us for the second half of the season. He made an excellent start to the season and then came the unfortunate injury that sidelined him for a long time," the manager explained in an interview with Ruhr Nachrichten.

Zorc also assured that Marco Rose and his coaching staff will be able to take advantage of the versatility that Gio Reyna provides on the field so that after his return he can be useful in multiple positions.

"Gio can help us in midfield as a number eight, but also on the wings even though he is not a natural winger. He has a very fine sense of space and the more forward he plays the more dangerous he is," added Michael Zorc.

Gio Reyna, the piece the USMNT needs

The elimination matches against El Salvador and Canada showed Gregg Berhalter's team's lack of attacking opportunities. They scored just one goal between those two games. So no doubt, Gio is the piece that would give the USMNT a different operation and will allow Pulisic to perform in his natural position.

More USMNT News:

USMNT vs Honduras: Stars and Stripes bury La H's World Cup dreams

 

Topics


More news