You’re not playing at a World Cup without some controversy, so it’s time to offer congratulations to the U.S. men’s national team for officially making it as a soccer nation.
The USMNT’s issue is the status of Gio Reyna, who has surprisingly played just seven minutes out of a possible 180. Even with the quality Gregg Berhalter has at his disposal on the wings, Reyna was widely expected to have played a more important role in Qatar than he has.
Reyna’s lack of playing time has sparked some speculation on whether he has an injury or if something else is up. Former USMNT forward Eric Wynalda thinks he knows what’s going on, offering claims of “a rift” between player and coach on social media following the team’s 0-0 draw with England.
Wynalda alleged “a massive controversy within the team” in a Twitter Space hosted by the LA Times, adding that there is now “internal strife with the manager, Gregg Berhalter.”
“I don’t know how much I should comment on that,” said Wynalda, before immediately commenting on that. “I’ve been trying to console Gio’s father, Claudio (his former USMNT teammate), for the last couple of hours and days with everything going on.”
Wynalda went on to allege that Berhalter “did lie to the media” in saying that Reyna was injured. “He asked the player to go along with that story, which caused a rift between the two of them and now he’s on the bench, which is really unfortunate,” said Wynalda. “This situation should have been handled very differently.”
If true — and that “if” is massive given the off-the-cuff nature of these quotes — Wynalda’s claims would be fairly explosive stuff. Reyna is among the best USMNT players, and given that he’s only 20 years old, he figures to be a foundational part of the squad for many years to come. In particular, Wynalda’s allegation that Reyna’s teammates are also upset with Berhalter over the lineup choices would point to a real problem for Berhalter and U.S. Soccer.
There was some confused messaging on this topic coming out of the team’s draw with Wales. Berhalter cited sporting reasons to explain why he opted to bring Jordan Morris on for the final minutes rather than Reyna, but also said that Reyna had felt “tightness” in the days leading up to the game.
With Reyna’s unfortunate injury history, it wasn’t surprising to hear that he had suffered some kind of knock, but Reyna told reporters that he “felt ready to go” after acknowledging “a little bit of tightness over the last few days.”
LISTEN
If this is true… Wow https://t.co/WhgYIRoWqZ pic.twitter.com/lCQtTjgTXX
— Bentley (@FB_Bentley) November 26, 2022
Is there some other explanation?
Tactically, it’s not all that difficult to parse how the USMNT has ended up leaving Reyna out of the starting 11. Berhalter’s 4-3-3 formation against Wales only had two positions that Reyna truly fits into, at least as long as the game state doesn’t dictate major risk-taking in central midfield. The starters in the spots that made sense for Reyna were Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah, two of the team’s other attacking stars.
Against England, Berhalter switched to a 4-4-2, adding to the number of spots where Reyna would be at his best, but those places went to Pulisic, Weah, Weston McKennie (a player that will start in any formation), and Haji Wright. Reyna is a bigger talent than Wright, but he can’t lead the line in the same way; they’re not really in direct competition with one another.
Given how well Weah played against Wales, and McKennie’s performance against England, and the fact that Pulisic is Pulisic, it’s difficult to make a case that someone truly undeserving ended up ahead of Reyna.
There are angles you could take to circumvent this: a move to a 4-2-3-1 formation, or shifting Weah into a center forward role. All of those would be big decisions, though, just as Berhalter is making a huge choice when he leaves Reyna out.
Things are different once you turn to Berhalter’s substitutions. The USMNT made five moves against Wales. Reyna’s not a perfect fit in the midfield when the USMNT plays 4-3-3, or as a striker, but it was possible to adjust and make room for Reyna, and Berhalter didn’t do it. Even taking a generous read, that’s a curious choice from the manager.
Fans took issue with Berhalter bringing Jordan Morris on, but the coach’s post-game analysis — that the game had become so direct that Morris’ straight-line speed and physicality were more suited to the situation — does hold some water. Still, it’s not like Reyna is slow or easily pushed around, and you can argue that Berhalter over-thought that particular choice.
Against England, there was another head-scratcher: Berhalter went 77 minutes before making any substitutions, even as the team began to show fatigue.
It’s hard to quibble with Brenden Aaronson coming on for McKennie, though that is certainly a spot that Reyna would have fit into with no issues. Reyna had to wait until the 83rd minute to take the field as a forward as Berhalter stuck with the 4-4-2 look that had flummoxed England, giving him little time to make much of an impact.
It is strange that Reyna hasn’t played more. Berhalter is facing the most bizarre World Cup ever, slammed right into the middle of the European club season, and has minutes to manage. Reyna is one of his best players, and has declared himself fit, so it stands to reason that he’d have seen more playing time.
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On the other hand, it just so happens that the USMNT is deeper on the wings than they are anywhere else. Aaronson is right up there with Reyna in terms of talent, and he’s not starting either. Coaches call this a “good problem,” but it is still a problem, because you have more players who rightly feel they’ve earned time than you have starting positions to give out. Someone’s going to be unhappy when the lineup comes out.
It could also be that fans and ex-USMNT forwards are overreacting in act two of a three-act story. Berhalter has repeatedly talked about how you have to tackle the whole group stage, and Tuesday’s match against Iran — who figure to play out of a low block — stacks up as the best game of the trio for Reyna’s clever, shifty style of play. Reyna, if he ends up playing a major role against Iran, could be Berhalter’s “Chekhov’s Gun,” particularly if the USMNT gets the win they need to advance.
If not, though, the choice to bring one of the best young players the USMNT has ever had to a World Cup, not use him very much, and struggle for goals is the kind of thing that tends to take up a lot of time when your employer brings you in for a performance evaluation.
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