Jeff CarlisleU.S. Football Correspondent Oct 5, 2023, 2:56pm ET6 minutes read
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The return of Borussia Dortmund attacker Gio Reyna under U.S. men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter highlights the 23-player squad preparing for friendlies against Germany on October 14 in Hartford, Connecticut, and Ghana three days later in Nashville, Tennessee.
The camp will be the first time Reyna and Berhalter have worked together since a feud between the Reyna and Berhalter families became public in January.
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Berhalter confirmed Thursday that the first step toward rebuilding the relationship happened “weeks ago” when the two chatted on a Zoom call.
“I think it’s going to take some time,” Berhalter said in a conference call with reporters. “There is a difference between a Zoom call and an in-person meeting. But I think both intentions are positive, and the idea is that we work together for the team to be successful, and I think we’re both ready for that.”
The incident initially focused on Reyna’s lack of playing time at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and his subsequent poor behavior during his deployment. Berhalter revealed at a leadership conference that he almost sent home an unnamed player – later identified as Reyna – because of his poor attitude.
In response, Reyna’s mother, Danielle, revealed to then-US Soccer athletic director Earnie Stewart a decades-old incident of domestic violence between Berhalter and his now-wife Rosalind. US Soccer opened an investigation that concluded the Berhalters had not tried to hide the incident, clearing the way for the manager to be reinstated in June.
The USMNT was managed by two interim managers during the Concacaf Gold Cup in July, first Anthony Hudson and later BJ Callaghan. A subsequent leg injury suffered by Reyna in the Concacaf Nations League final in June prevented Reyna and Berhalter from working together as he returned to his post.
Gio Reyna played a total of 52 minutes at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. ANP MAURICE VAN STONE (Photo by ANP via Getty Images)
According to US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker, Reyna and Berhalter only recently discussed what happened in the weeks following the World Cup, but now the two are ready to “move on.”
Reyna has not played for either club or country since the injury, although he has been used as a substitute in recent games for Dortmund.
“We’re going to be creative with the protocols,” Berhalter said, referring to Reyna. “We definitely want to get him on the field and work through the Germany game as well as see what position he plays.”
“And then in the Ghana game the same thing, we’ll see how we can fit him on the field in different positions throughout the camp.”
The rest of the squad contains many familiar faces, including 15 who played in the Concacaf Nations League final in June. The squad includes AC Milan duo Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah as well as Juventus duo Weston McKennie and Tim Weah.
“In line with our long-term strategic approach through 2026, we have a great opportunity to play against two world-class opponents and further develop our group of players,” said Berhalter. “We are focused on selecting strong squads and maintaining continuity as much as possible and that is another important building block.”
Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams will miss camp after suffering a new hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined since March. Internacional’s Johnny Cardoso and Celta Vigo’s Luca de la Torre will look to take Adam’s place in midfield. Fulham defender Antonee Robinson was also not called up. Palermo’s Kristoffer Lund, who made his US debut in September, will try to replace him, as will Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Joe Scally.
“So we’re thinking about Tyler. He means a lot to this team both on and off the field. That’s the first thing,” Berhalter said.
“And secondly, it gives us the opportunity to have a Plan B if and when Tyler is unavailable, and we’ll work through that, whether that’s with Yunus and Weston placed a little deeper and then an attacking midfielder, or ob.” It features a traditional single pivot and two attacking midfielders.
“Either way, it will give us a lot of information, and it will be really fun to test it against high-level opponents.”
Should Musah appear in either game in the October window, he would become only the fourth USMNT player to reach 30 caps before his 21st birthday. Only Jozy Altidore, Christian Pulisic and Landon Donovan have played 30 international matches before turning 21.
Heidenheim’s Lennard Maloney is the only first choice. As a dual national with German and US citizenship, Maloney played in all six Bundesliga games for Heidenheim this season. Maloney made two appearances for the US U20 national team in 2018 and previously also played for the German U18 and U19 teams.
Central defender Cameron Carter-Vickers will take part in his first camp since the 2022 World Cup.
The U.S. is 4-7-0 against Germany, although it has won two of its last three games against the four-time world champions, including a 2-1 win in Cologne in 2015 thanks to a late winner from Bobby Wood.
The Americans’ record against the Black Stars is 2-2-0, with their last meeting coming in 2017, a 2-1 win for the USA thanks to goals from Kellyn Acosta and Dom Dwyer.
DETAILED LINEUP BY POSITION (Club/Country; Internationals/Goals)
GOALKEEPER (2): Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 9/0), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 33/0)
DEFENDER (8): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/SCO; 12/0), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 28/2), DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution; 7/0), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo/ITA; 2/0), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 52/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 12/1), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 26/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 6 /0)
MIDFIELD PLAYER (7): Johnny Cardoso (Internacional/BRA; 7/0), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/ESP; 17/0), Lennard Maloney (Heidenheim/GER; 0/0), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 46/11), Yunus Musah (AC Milan/ITA; 29/0), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 20/4), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 64/0)
FORWARD (6): Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin/GER; 34/8), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 4/2), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg/GER; 1/0), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 18 /9), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 62/26), Tim Weah (Juventus/ITA; 33/5)