Gio Reyna was named to the United States men’s national team for the first time since March. The midfielder is just one of several new faces in November’s squad as head coach Mauricio Pochettino once again takes an experimental approach.
This month’s squad includes 11 players who did not feature in October’s friendlies, a 1-1 draw against Ecuador and a 2-1 win against Australia, with some of the turnover explained by player availability. Tyler Adams returns after missing last month’s games while awaiting the birth of his second child, while Sergino Dest and Ricardo Pepi are back at home after recovering from some injuries. A handful of notable exclusions are also due to injuries: Christian Pulisic suffered a hamstring problem against Australia, while Antonee Robinson has been struggling with a knee injury for several months now.
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Even so, some absences – and inclusions – are more notable than others. Goalkeeper Matt Turner, a 2022 World Cup starter who has not played for the USMNT since June, was left out, as were fellow World Cup veterans Weston McKennie and Tim Weah after playing in October’s matches. Reyna, meanwhile, is back in the mix for the first time since his summer move to Borussia Monchengladbach in desperate need of playing time and is joined by club and country teammate Joe Scally in his first call-up in months.
“We started a year ago and for different reasons and circumstances we did not have the opportunity to see all the players with us, to play with us, to behave with us and to explain to them [what] we expect from them,” Pochettino said at a press conference on Thursday before his penultimate international break before the World Cup. “That’s why now is a good opportunity to have a special player like Gio. I think we’re going to be [in agreement] that Gio is a special player. It’s to give the opportunity to be with us.”
The USMNT continues its preparation for the 2026 World Cup with a friendly match against Paraguay on November 15 and one against Uruguay on November 18. Both of this month’s opponents have already qualified for next summer’s tournament, with Uruguay the latest FIFA top 30 opponent to face the United States en route to the World Cup.
USMNT November Roster
GOALKEEPERS (4): Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Jonathan Klinsmann (Cesena), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew)
DEFENDERS (9): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Sergino Dest (PSV Eindhoven), Alex Freeman (Orlando City), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse FC), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach), John Tolkin (Holstein Kiel), Auston Trusty (Celtic)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/ENG), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique de Lyon), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew)
BEFORE (5): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Haji Wright (Coventry City)
“Common sense” to leave out Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie
Pulisic has not played since being injured against Australia, but he could return to the field when AC Milan face Parma on Saturday, although it is not yet clear how many minutes he will be able to play. Since he will be in the early stages of his recovery next week when the USMNT reconvenes, Pochettino said recalling him was not worth the risk.
“It’s not common sense to call a player,” Pochettino said. “It’s true, it was a small injury. It’s to give him the opportunity to recover 100%, to be full and ready to play after the international match with his [club] team. It’s common sense. We never risk the players. He played against Australia because he [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 arrived at camp with a problem that he [had]once again, with his club in Italy.
McKennie is fit but will remain in Italy this month and continue training with Juventus. The turn-based club replaced manager Igor Tudor with Luciano Spaletti last week and although McKennie has played in each of Spaletti’s first games in charge, Pochettino believes it is more beneficial for the player to remain in Turin and further ingratiate himself with his new club manager.
“With the arrival of a new coach at a new club, you can see that Weston plays every game,” Pochettino said, “but now I think in the next few weeks, the opportunity for the new coach to work with the players there and not compete, I think it’s important for Weston to be there and try to convince the coach. [to] keep playing. I think it’s more important than him being with us because we already know what he can bring to the team.”
Gio Reyna returns
On skill alone, Reyna is easily one of the most standout players in the USMNT talent pool, but things have rarely gone as planned for a player with great promise. The 22-year-old has been plagued by injuries, but even when fully fit, he has struggled to play regularly at club level. Reyna has only played more than 10 league matches per season once in his entire career – the 2020-21 season with Borussia Dortmund – and has not played a 90-minute league match since 2022. This level of inactivity has caused him to slide down the national team’s depth chart, despite the years-old family feud with former USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter, was removed from the equation.
Although Reyna said he would not “take full responsibility” for the drama that followed the 2022 World Cup, due to reports that he was almost kicked out of the team for “failing to live up to expectations on and off the field”, the player admitted that his destiny at the USMNT was in his own hands. Game time at club level is a must for Pochettino and although Reyna has only started once for Mönchengladbach, with injuries again hampering his ability to play, he is gradually building up his match fitness. It was enough to merit at least one more look from Pochettino, who seems determined to learn as much as possible about everyone in the playing pool before locking in his World Cup roster.
“We already know Gio, Gio’s potential and the talent. He has enormous talent and it’s true that he doesn’t play too much but I think it’s a good opportunity in November because until March we won’t be together anymore,” Pochettino said. “More than playing on the field, it’s more about being with him, sharing time, knowing [him] better. …Now it begins[ing] to be fit again and I think it can be a boost of motivation for him to be with us. It’s an important thing for us.”
The race forward heats up
The USMNT’s results have been on an upward trend in recent months, largely because the team now has a handful of forwards in impressive form. After an injury-plagued year, Folarin Balogun has two goals and an assist in his last four games for the national team, while Haji Wright scored twice against Australia in his first start under Pochettino. Both men have coupled this with strong performances from their club teams and for November another in-form player will join them – Ricardo Pepi. The PSV striker is back with the national team for the first time in a year, spending much of his time nursing a knee injury. He has, however, picked up where he left off at club level: he has scored five goals in 12 games in all competitions, most recently with a stoppage-time equalizer in PSV’s 1-1 draw at Olympiacos on Tuesday.
Diego Luna, meanwhile, joins the attacking ranks this time around after being listed as a midfielder for months. Pochettino’s move to a back three in recent months has forced a little positional restructuring in all areas of the pitch and while Luna’s minutes in midfield have declined in October, Pochettino feels there is another role in the team for which he is well suited.
“For me he is an attacking player,” Pochettino said. “He is an attacking midfielder who can play like a second striker, who can play on the side like a winger, like a No. 10. I see him more offensive than [as] a midfielder who alone can contain the ball and play. I think he is a player, even if we want to play him a little deeper, he is a player who has the ability, the continuity in every situation to arrive in the area and try to score goals because his mentality and his characteristics, every time we are in possession, he wants to score and when a player has this mentality, he is an attacker. He is an offensive player. That’s why he’s in this place.”
Matt Freese, the new number 1?
Even if Pochettino opts for experimentation, a trend seems to be emerging at the goalkeeper position. The position now appears to be Matt Freese’s, with the New York City FC goalkeeper going from relative obscurity to starting 11 of his last 12 matches. Those 11 caps make him the most experienced goalkeeper on the roster, with 2022 World Cup starter Turner nowhere to be found. He was named to the October roster but didn’t play a single minute. Freese is now flanked by inexperienced goalkeepers. It’s too early to suggest that Turner might not make the World Cup roster, but his days as the team’s keeper in goal could be over, with Pochettino perhaps focusing on giving Freese as much experience as possible before the big event.
