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Gio Reyna has struggled to find a consistent role with Nottingham Forest this year, but U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter is sticking with the young attacker for international duty.
Reyna was included in Berhalter’s 23-player roster on Wednesday ahead of the CONCACAF Nations League Final Four later this month. The Borussia Dortmund loanee has been reduced to only 38 minutes (four appearances) of action since arriving at The City Ground last January, missing the last two matches due to a slight injury.
Reyna’s proposed move to Nottingham Forest originally brought excitement for the 21-year-old, but has since not gone as hoped. Berhalter supported his decision to call Reyna into March international duty though, hinting that the midfielder has the ability to turn around his season.
“It’s always concerning when guys aren’t getting regular minutes but what we know about adapting to different leagues is sometimes it takes a while,” Berhalter said Wednesday in a conference call.
“And, in Gio’s, case, he is coming from the Bundesliga to a very high-tempo Premier League. His team in particular is very robust, very high energy on the counter attack. We’re not surprised that it’s taking them a little bit but we believe that he’ll be able to get it done in the end. For us, he has performed well in this last year and we thought that was enough to include him in this squad.”
Reyna earned eight USMNT caps in 2023, scoring one goal and registering four assists. After being part of the 2020-winning squad, Reyna assisted twice in last July’s 2-0 finals victory over Canada before a later-ruled knee injury forced him out of the match at halftime.
With two Nations League titles already under his belt, Reyna could play a vital role for the Americans in their quest for a three-peat.
The USMNT hosts Jamaica on March 21 in Arlington, Texas before potentially facing either Mexico or Panama in the March 24…
Source link : https://sbisoccer.com/2024/03/gregg-berhalter-supports-gio-reyna-despite-concerning-club-role
Author : Larry Henry Jr
Publish date : 2024-03-14 01:03:51
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