Gio Reyna remains welcome on the U.S. national team despite a lack of club playing time and Noahkai Banks is still undecided whether to commit to the Americans or Germany.
Reyna was among 27 players picked Tuesday by Mauricio Pochettino for friendlies against Belgium on March 28 and Portugal three days later, the last national team games before the coach announces his 26-man World Cup roster on May 26. Banks, a talented 19-year-old defender, ruled himself out of consideration for the matches in Atlanta.
A son of former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna, Gio scored in the November friendly Paraguay in his first international start in 16 months to surpass his father in international goals, but the midfielder again has had trouble getting playing time with his club. He has just 403 Bundesliga minutes this season for Borussia Mönchengladbach , none since Jan. 17, and has been slowed by an unspecified muscle injury.
“Gio was fantastic in November with us," Pochettino said during an online news conference. “We really know that he’s a very special talent and very special player and I think to give the possibility, even if he’s not playing too much in his club, he can be very useful for us.”
Banks made his Bundesliga debut with Augsburg in January 2025 and trained with the U.S. last September but did not get into a match. Pochettino and his assistants have spoken by Zoom and FaceTime with the German-American, who was born in Hawaii and played for U.S. youth national teams.
“He’s thinking and still didn’t make the decision,” Pochettino said. “In a difficult situation and hope for USA that the decision will be for our side.”
While midfielder Tyler Adams (quadriceps), defender Sergiño Dest (hamstring) and forward Haji Wright (groin) will miss the matches, Pochettino was hopeful they will recover in time for World Cup consideration.
Adams, the U.S. captain at the 2022 World Cup, missed Bournemouth’s match against Burnley on Saturday and Pochettino expects the midfielder to be sidelined for two to three weeks.
Dest, the top American right back, injured his left leg playing for PSV Eindhoven on March 7 and Wright, second in England's second-tier League Championship with 16 goals, left Coventry’s game against Southampton in the 61st minute on Saturday.
Diego Luna, a 22-year-old midfielder who became a national team regular last year, made his season debut for Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake last weekend as a second-half substitute after missing three matches because of a knee injury.
In addition, defender/midfielder James Sands had ankle surgery Friday and is expected to miss the rest of St. Pauli’s season.
Forward Patrick Agyemang, who has 10 goals for second-tier Derby, was selected along with midfielder Johnny Cardoso, who has gotten regular playing time with Atletico Madrid.
Left back Antonee Robinson returns and could make his first appearance since November 2024 after recovering from a knee injury. He is among 10 additions along with several other players who missed November friendlies because of injuries or fitness issues, a group that includes defender Chris Richards, Cardoso and fellow midfielder Malik Tillman, and forwards Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah.
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Pulisic missed the November games to regain fitness following a hamstring injury. While he scored 10 goals in his first 15 appearances for AC Milan this season, he has none in his last 11 games.
“It’s not only to score goals,” Pochettino said. “I am happy with him in the way that he is performing.”
Weston McKennie is back after being left off in November to remain at Juventus just after coach Luciano Spalletti was hired by the club.
Goalkeepers Matt Turner and Chris Brady are on the roster while keepers Jonathan Klinsmann and Patrick Schulte were dropped along with defender John Tolkin and midfielder Timothy Tillman.
Players start reporting Sunday, 18 from Europe and nine from MLS teams. After Pochettino picks his World Cup roster, the Americans have friendlies against Senegal on May 31 and Germany on June 6, then open the tournament vs. Paraguay on June 12.
“Everyone is saying that maybe it’s the last opportunity, but it’s not close,” Pochettino said. “It’s open. It’s still open.”
The roster:
Goalkeepers: Chris Brady (Chicago), Roman Celentano (Cincinnati), Matt Freese (New York City), Matt Turner (New England Revolution).
Defenders: Max Arfsten (Columbus), Alex Freeman (Villarreal), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Glasgow Celtic).
Midfielders: Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver), Johnny Cardoso (Atletico Madrid), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Cristian Roldan (Seattle), Tanner Tessmann (Lyon); Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen).
Forwards: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds); Patrick Agyemang (Derby), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Tim Weah (Marseille).
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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