Reports have emerged that suggest that soccer player, Gio Reyna, was nearly sent home from the USA World Cup squad.
The reports are based on the press conference made by head coach Gregg Berhalter who said that an unnamed player, "was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field" and that, "we were ready to book a plane ticket home, that’s how extreme it was."
What’s the situation?
Reyna was spotted walking casually at the USA soccer team’s training sessions immediately prior to the opening match against Wales while the rest of the team were vigorously training. Some commentators speculated that Reyna was disappointed due to the fact that he was unlikely to be starting the USA’s first
World Cup
game since 2014.
Reports have indicated that other players in the team spoke to the 20-year old in a bid to resolve the situation and the matter was reportedly closed. While Berhalter said that Reyna wasn’t in the starting line-up against Wales due to ‘a little bit of tightness,’ the midfielder refuted the statement saying, “I feel really good.”
With Berhalter once again addressing the situation at a speech on moral leadership last week, it seems that the issue is far from being resolved. Reyna is one of the USA’s most exciting young talents having shown impressive form during his time with the German soccer club, Borussia Dortmund. While he played a handful of minutes as a substitute during the USA’s goalless draw with England, the midfielder was once again absent from the team’s final match against Iran.
While the Reyna situation is regrettable, it hasn’t been enough to stain what has been a positive World Cup campaign for the USA. The round of 16 game against the Netherlands may have been a step too far, but the fact that the USA could hold top teams like England to a 0-0 draw shows just how far this team has come.
As such, hopes are high that the USA will be much better prepared by the time that the next World Cup rolls around in 2026. In particular, efforts must be made to overcome the naive defending that was ruthlessly exposed by the Dutch team.
Above all, the USA showed that they have the talent to take on the best in the world. In particular, star players like Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic, AC Milan’s Sergino Dest and Juventus’ Weston McKennie give the USA real hope for the future.
Although Reyna showed that there remain a few personality issues to resolve, the opposite is true when it comes to the USA captain, Tyler Adams. The 23-year old showed a level of maturity far beyond his years when it came to dealing with the press ahead of a very politically charged game against Iran. So while the USA has struggled to reach the standards set by other soccer nations in recent years, it looks as though the tide might finally be turning - at least when it comes to their
World Cup betting odds.
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