USMNT World Cup roster: Controversial Gio Reyna inclusion only the tip of the iceberg

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Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

World Cup roster decisions are inherently contentious, and Mauricio Pochettino's 26-man list for the tournament on home soil was always bound to get people talking.

The Argentine doesn't really operate like a traditional national team coach. That's because, well, he isn't. By his own admission, his stint with the USMNT is merely a brief intermezzo before he gets back into the club game again.

No one thinks that Pochettino will stick around for a second cycle, regardless of what happens this summer. He has certainly acted like a man who knows that he won't be in this job much longer, but that is not to say that his heart isn't in it.

He cares and wants to be successful this summer, of course, he does. Pochettino claimed during the roster announcement on Tuesday that he had barely slept in the two weeks preceding the event, ultimately only settling on his final 26 "on the last day."

Those who didn't make the cut were bluntly informed via email, a "diabolical" way of communicating World Cup heartbreak, according to former US striker Herculez Gomez. It's something you only do when you know that you won't have to interact with these players again.

The mood turns sour

When asked about it, Pochettino insisted that it was the right way to go about it, drawing on his own experience of missing out on a World Cup squad.

"When I didn’t make the roster, I didn’t want the coach to call me," he said. "If I ask why am I not in the roster, what are they going to say? They are going to lie. If I call, it’s about myself. Come on, that is bullsh*t."

Perhaps he has a point, but it wasn't a good look, and it has contributed to a worsening of the mood around the USMNT. The team was on cloud nine after some sparkling performances in late 2025, but the March break crushed any optimism.

The US was thoroughly outplayed by Belgium and Portugal, with fans and pundits left scratching their heads about Pochettino's decisions. Instead of trying to build chemistry and to figure out his best team, he experimented.

At this point, with the World Cup right around the corner, he should have a clear idea about his best eleven, but this does not appear to be the case. Most people would have had Lyon midfielder Tanner Tessmann earmarked not just as a shoo-in for the squad but perhaps even as a starter in midfield.

Not Pochettino. The Dallas homegrown was cut from the roster altogether - clearly as punishment for a shambolic March break. By all accounts, Tessmann would have been fully fit and raring to go for the World Cup.

His omission on Tuesday did not come as a surprise, but only because the roster had already leaked over the weekend. The debates had exhausted themselves by the time the final 26 dropped.

Even now, with the dust having settled and Pochettino having had the chance to explain his decisions, some are still no less baffling than they were when the roster first leaked.

Reyna a useful if controversial pick

One of the most eyebrow-raising decisions isn't an omission but an inclusion: that of Gio Reyna. The oft-injured Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder struggled to get on the pitch for a genuinely dreadful Bundesliga team this season.

After his escapade at the 2022 World Cup, where he and his parents sparked a scandal and downed tools after being informed by then-coach Gregg Berhalter that he would only play a limited role, most coaches would have tried to keep him as far away from the team as possible.

Not Pochettino. He has included Reyna in his final squad because he can trust him, he says. The 23-year-old has matured and admitted that he no longer expects to be a guaranteed starter.

"I think everyone wants to play every minute of every game,” Reyna said. "But sometimes it doesn’t work like that. So, this time around, I’m just willing to do whatever it takes. Of course I want to play, but so do 26 guys, so it’s never that simple."

Pochettino doesn't yet know what exactly Reyna's role will be, but he recognises that he is a unique talent in the pool. He is a game-breaker and game-changer, even if he will only be able to contribute off the bench.

"I don’t say that he’s going to play the game, but he can help," Pochettino explained. "He can help because he’s a different player, different talent. And I think, in [any] roster, you need to have a player like him."

That part is understandable. In the grand scheme of things, Reyna's inclusion is only really the tip of the iceberg. It's not the worst thing in the world, even if his call-up has come at the expense of in-form Real Salt Lake winger Diego Luna.

No lesson learned from 2006

Pochettino's other midfield decisions are much more egregious. The US roster looks woefully understocked on defensive midfielders, with only Tyler Adams and Cristian Roldan natural options for that position.

Sure, Sebastian Berhalter and, if need be, Weston McKennie can play there. Hell, you could also, as Pochettino suggested, play Reyna and Malik Tillman (a role he notoriously hates) there. Even Chris Richards, once upon a time, briefly played as a D-mid.

But is that really what you want in a high-stakes tournament environment? Playing players out of position in one of the most crucial roles in the team? That's a recipe for disaster.

Was there really a need to call up 10 defenders? Why did Alejandro Zendejas suddenly get called in after not playing for the US since September 2025? That's not a slight on Zendejas, by the way; he should be playing regularly for the US.

The worst part of all of this is that the US has been here before. There should be an institutional memory - or trauma - preventing the USMNT from navigating itself in this position. Evidently, there isn't.

Remember 2006? The US headed into the tournament in Germany as the fifth-highest-ranked team in FIFA. Yes, fifth. In fact, the US was ranked fourth two months before the tournament started.

And then what happened? The team finished bottom of their group because they only had one genuine defensive midfielder - Pablo Mastroeni - and he got sent off in the second game against Italy.

Claudio Reyna had to play a more defensive role in the third group game and made the mistake that led to Ghana's opening goal. He injured himself in the same sequence, had to be subbed off for Ben Olsen, and the US lost and crashed out.

The signs had already been there in the successful 2002 World Cup, too, with the US struggling whenever Mastroeni wasn't on the pitch. 20 years on from 2006, the US still hasn't learned its lesson.

The team is an injury or a couple of yellow cards away from being left criminally exposed in one of the most vital areas of the pitch. Not calling up Tessmann or Aidan Morris could come back to haunt Pochettino.

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Tom Weber | Writer

Tom Weber is an experienced, multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer as part of his freelance work for FootballTransfers.

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