Gio Reyna pleased with landmark goal in Germany ahead of US World Cup team selection

“It’s been a little while but in the end I’m just happy to score,” Reyna told reporters Tuesday. “In the end it didn’t matter too much but more than that it was good to get a good chunk of minutes and I felt like I had a pretty good performance overall.”

The 23-year-old Reyna, whose father Claudio captained the U.S. at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, said it would be “an honor” to be selected for coach Mauricio Pochettino’s U.S. squad on May 26.

Reyna has often been used off the bench in his first season at Gladbach and hasn’t played a full 90-minute club league game in four years — not helped by a series of injuries — but has been playing for the U.S. under Pochettino.

Reyna said it was “a hard question to answer” whether he felt he’d done enough this season to make the World Cup team.

“If I say no, I’m not backing myself. And if I say yes, it’s the arrogant answer where I feel like I should be there. It’s a hard question to answer,” he said.

“I love the staff. I love the players. I love the national team. Obviously whatever happens, happens. Really hoping and wanting to be there to make an impact and achieve something great with the team, but the decision is out of my hands.”

Reyna told The Associated Press last year that the World Cup was his long-term target following his move to Gladbach, seeking a more regular playing role. Reyna was on the World Cup squad in 2022 but barely played amid a difficult relationship with then-coach Gregg Berhalter and what he told the AP was “frustration and disappointment” over a lack of minutes.

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup