Giovanni “Gio” Reyna US National Team Discussion

Poch says Gio is in camp less to "perform on the pitch" than for the coaches to see him and get to know him.

— scuffed (@scuffedpod) November 6, 2025

 

This is why I was hoping to get called in. Not that I can play or anything, but I'm an interesting person to get to know.

 

But what do your parents bring to the table?

 

Gio may not realize it, but he’s back to square one with the US. I think he’s going to have a hard time making the team but there is an opportunity for a fresh start.
Step one is to focus, work hard and be a good teammate. Take pride in wearing the crest. If he does that, maybe. It still may be too late or the theory his legs are shot is true, but he has to take step one.

 

Only to lose his spot when his internal laziness resurfaces.
He reminds me of Rafael Leão of Milan in that he has high talent but poor work ethics and very poor ability to not sulk when his ideals don't happen. But, even at his best, he has nowhere close to the skill of Rafael Leão and his work ethic is lower.

Until he plays effectively for about a year he will remain on the outside of any national team or major club involvement. He just does not ever work hard I see no evidence that he has ever put in hard work for anything much less when he does not see a direct immediate advantage for himself.

So far he has never developed any trust of any coach he has ever played for. They don't trust him and I don't trust him either.

 

Welcome back, Gio.

Check the attitude, work hard, and make the most of it.

 

Gio has always had pride in the crest And he should loaf, have an attitude and make big plays.

 

Solid posts tonight fellas. Got a few giggles on some of them.

You know the deal.. he'll come in for 10 minute cameo and make a few nice plays and we will get all worked up again. He's a heartbreaker.

 

Checking out his vibe and energy.

 

Give him a phone book to rip!

 

Super glad that the player pool’s most specialist boy gets to get called in

 

Maybe Poch plans to work Gio's ass off, let him believe he is going to play a bunch of minutes in game 1, and then see how he reacts when he doesn't. Maybe he could record him continuously on the bench during the match, in the locker room, during the unused sub sprints after the game, during team meetings after, and during training the next couple of days; then glue his eye open McDowell-style and make him watch himself being a prig.

Or maybe Gio would turn out to be the ideal, supportive, selfless, hard-working, teammate and the tape goes in the bin and Gio plays in game 2.

 

This seems extremely unlikely, though it's probably what he needs to do this camp to have a chance at making the WC roster.

 

Gio is 3 years out from WC22 so maybe he has grown up enough to have a little maturity. It's worth finding out. I think that is what Poch is talking about.

 

The negative for Gio today- Only 15 minutes came on with Gladbach up 3-0 and it was largely a cardio session

The positive- He had some nice touches the rare moment he got on the ball, and there were a couple times where he showed true commitment to press the backline,

 

You must've missed the interview he did this week. If he's matured any, it seems like it's not much (and not enough).

 

What's the laugh for?

 

They’ve gotta have something to cling to at this point. Let them have a little hope.

Hopefully Gio gets his butt in gear soon. If not, they’ll descend into a delusion stranger than anything we ever experienced with the Fredua Fanboys.

 

I have never seen a player so ridiculed by US Fans. I'll give @NietzscheIsDead credit, we've disagreed over the years on Gio but I find myself recently agreeing with him much more. We should all want Gio to succeed , we should want every eligible athlete for the USMNT in the pool to succeed.

There's not a single player in the pool I wish ill will on, but it seems like many do on Gio. I hope he gets his stuff together and provides for the USMNT, if not then it is what it is.

 

I may recruit you to discuss some things with my wife.

 

She's a Gio fan isn't she?

 

Plenty of disagreements to work on. First up: she doesn’t like Mexican food.

 

WTF???

Is she scandanavian or something? Jesus. That's a dealbreaker for me.