Gio Reyna has been named to the US men's national team for the first time since March, with the midfielder just one of several fresh faces in the November squad as head coach Mauricio Pochettino takes an experimental approach again.
This month's squad includes 11 players who did not take part in the October friendlies. draw 1:1 with Ecuador And Victory over Australia 2:1.Some of the turnover is due to the availability of players. Tyler Adams returns after missing last month while awaiting the birth of his second child, while Sergino Dest and Ricardo Pepi are back in action after recovering from some injuries. A few notable exceptions have also been injury-related, with Christian Pulisic picking up a hamstring problem against Australia and Anthony Robinson having been battling a knee injury for months.
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Even so, some absences—and inclusions—are more noticeable than others. Goalkeeper Matt Turner, a 2022 World Cup starter who has not played for the USMNT since June, was ruled out, as were fellow World Cup veterans Weston McKennie and Tim Weah after playing in the October games. Meanwhile, Reyna returned to the team for the first time since his summer move to Borussia Monchengladbach due to a desperate need for game time, and was joined by club and country teammate Joe Scully on his first call-up in months.
“We started a year ago and for various reasons and circumstances we did not have the opportunity to see all the players with us, perform with us, behave with us and explain [what] we expect from them,” Pochettino told a news conference on Thursday before his penultimate international break before the World Cup. “That's why now it's a good opportunity to have a special player like Gio. I think we will [in agreement] that Gio is a special player. This is to give the opportunity to be with us.”
The USMNT continues preparations for the 2026 World Cup with a friendly against Paraguay on November 15 and one against Uruguay on November 18. Both this month's opponents have already qualified for next summer's tournament, and Uruguay will be the last FIFA top 30 opponent to face the United States en route to the World Cup.
USMNT Roster for November
Goalkeepers (4): Roman Celentano (Cincinnati), Matt Freese (NYC), Jonathan Klinsmann (Cesena), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew)
DEFENDERS (9): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Sergino Dest (PSV Eindhoven), Alex Freeman (Orlando City), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte), Miles Robinson (Cincinnati), Joe Scully (Borussia Mönchengladbach), John Tolkin (Holstein Kiel), Auston Trusty (Celtic)
HALF-FIELDERS (7): Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/England), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Christian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyonnais), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew).
Forwards (5): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Haji Wright (Coventry City).
“Common sense” should ditch Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie
Pulisic has not played since picking up the injury against Australia but could return when Milan play Parma on Saturday, although it is currently unclear how many minutes he will be able to play. With him in the early stages of recovery when the USMNT reconvenes next week, Pochettino said calling him up was not worth the risk.
“It's not wise to call up a player,” Pochettino said. “It’s true, it was a minor injury. It should give him the opportunity to recover 100%, be well-fed and be ready to play after the national team with his team.” [club] team. This is common sense. We never take risks with players. He played against Australia because he really [felt] really good, and because all the assessments of our doctors and medical staff were correct and the player agreed with us. He didn't play against Ecuador because he came to camp with some problem he had to deal with. [had]again, with my club in Italy.”
McKennie is fit but will remain in Italy this month and continue training with Juventus. The Step-by-Step club replaced coach Igor Tudor with Luciano Spalletti last week and although McKennie played in each of Spalletti's first games, Pochettino believes it is better for the player to remain in Turin and further ingratiate himself with his new club manager.
“With a new manager at a new club, you can see Weston playing all the games,” Pochettino said, “but now I think in the next few weeks the new manager will be able to work with the players rather than compete. I think it's important for Weston to be there and try to convince the coach.” [to] keep playing. I think that's more important than being with us because we already know what he can bring to the team.”
Gio Reyna is back
In terms of skill alone, Reina is undoubtedly one of the most notable players in the USMNT talent pool, but things rarely go to plan for an up-and-coming player. The 22-year-old has been plagued by injuries but even when fully fit has struggled to get regular playing time at club level. Reina has only played 10-plus matches in a season once in his entire career – the 2020/21 season with Borussia Dortmund – and has not played a 90-minute league game since 2022. long-running family feud with former USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter was taken out of the equation.
Although Reyna said he would not take “all the blame” for the drama that followed the 2022 World Cup following reports that he was nearly kicked out of the team for “not living up to expectations on and off the field,” the player did admit that his fate with the USMNT was in his own hands. Playing time at club level is a must for Pochettino and although Reyna has made just one start for Monchengladbach, with injuries holding him back again, he is gradually building up his match fitness. It was enough to earn at least another look from Pochettino, who appears determined to learn as much as possible about all the players before cementing his World Cup squad.
“We already know Gio, his potential and his talent. He has a huge talent and it's true that he doesn't play too much, but I think it's a good opportunity in November because we won't be together again until March,” Pochettino said. “It’s more than just being on the field, it’s more about being with him, sharing time, getting to know [him] better. … Now he has begun[ing] to get in shape again, and I think this could be an additional motivation for him to be with us. This is an important thing for us.”
The race ahead is heating up
The USMNT's results have been trending upward in recent months, largely because the team now boasts several forwards who are in impressive form. After an injury-plagued year, Folarin Balogun has scored two goals and provided one assist in his last four caps, while Haji Wright scored a brace against Australia in his first start under Pochettino. The pair have combined this with strong performances for their club teams and will be joined by another in-form player in Ricardo Pepi in November. The PSV striker returned to the national team for the first time in a year, having spent most of his time out with a knee injury. At club level, however, he has picked up where he left off, with five goals in 12 games in all competitions, most recently a stoppage-time equalizer in PSV's 1-1 draw with Olympiacos on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Diego Luna joins the striker ranks this time after spending several months as a midfielder. Pochettino's move to a back three in recent months has seen a slight positional restructuring across the pitch, and although Luna's midfield minutes have been reduced in October, Pochettino feels there is another role in the team for which he is well suited.
“For me he is a striker,” Pochettino said. “He is an attacking midfielder who can play as a second striker, who can play outside as a striker, as a number 10. I consider him more attacking than [as] a midfielder who can only hold the ball and play. I think he is a player, even if you want to play him a little deeper, he is a player who has the ability, the consistency in every single situation to get into the box and try to score goals because his mentality and his characteristics, every time we have the ball he wants to score and when a player has that mentality, he is a striker. He's a striker. That's why he's in this place.”
Matt Freese, the new No. 1?
Despite Pochettino's preference for experimentation, there seems to be a trend emerging in the goalkeeper position. Now it looks like Matt Freeze will lose out on the job, with the New York City FC scorer going from relative obscurity to starting 11 of his last 12 games. Those 11 caps make him the most experienced goalkeeper in the squad, with 2022 World Cup rookie Turner nowhere to be seen. He was included in the October roster, but did not play a minute. Freeze is now surrounded by inexperienced goalkeepers. It's too early to suggest Turner won't make the World Cup squad, but his days as the team's full-back may be over and Pochettino may be focusing on giving Freeze as much experience as possible before the big event.
