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In only 45 minutes against Canada, Gio Reyna was able to show both why he's one of the most talented members of the United States men's national team, as well as someone who the team has to exercise caution with. As the USMNT beat Canada 2-0, Reyna not only assisted the team's first goal from a corner kick in over a year, but he also displayed excellent ball control, working out of tight spaces to feed Folarin Balogun for an insurance goal to up the pressure on Canada. Forty-five minutes, two assists, and a man of the match performance, isn't bad for a player that's had trouble getting on the field for the USMNT over the last year.

Reyna played in midfield as one of two eights, or attacking, two-way midfielders. B.J. Callaghan was able to utilize Reyna in a different position for the national team due to only Yunus Musah being available from the traditional midfield that includes Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams. Playing as a dual box to box midfielder with Brenden Aaronson, Reyna shined in front of Musah but also showed why his performances can be so fleeting for club and country.

Withdrawn at halftime after picking up an injury, Reyna was even limping when the team celebrated their trophy continuing what has been a tough year for him. With the return of Gregg Berhalter on the horizon, performances like the one against Canada are what Reyna will need to do in order to secure a place in the lineup, but Berhalter will have to level set expectations with Reya as well, given their complicated history after the way he was treated by Gio Reyna's parents, the legendary Claudio and Danielle Reyna. The whole thing was a mess but the younger Reyna is simply too good not to figure out a way to move past it.

Knowing Reyna's talent, his parents weren't satisfied with the amount of playing time that Gio received at the World Cup, or the fact that Berhalter had a conversation with the midfielder that he would have a limited role in Qatar. For those discussions, it's important to add context to why Berhalter did that, even if it shouldn't have ended up being public knowledge that Berhalter shared at a conference, claiming he thought that it was off the record.

Leading up to the World Cup, Reyna was just recovering from a calf strain that saw him only register two starts for Borussia Dortmund between mid-October and leaving for the World Cup in November. While other players like Christian Pulisic and Sergino Dest were also struggling for starts at that time, their club absences weren't due to anything injury related. They were fit and ready to go. And most of Reyna's other regular competition in midfield and on the wing were featuring regularly.

There has been a feeling that Berhalter doesn't want to play Reyna, but prior to his injury against El Salvador in World Cup qualifying in September of 2021, Reyna started in seven of the nine matches that he was available for -- all of which were under Berhalter. When he's healthy he's generally played, he's just frequently not healthy. The question is less if Berhalter will play a healthy Reyna, but where.

Where is Reyna's best position?

Teams have been trying to figure out if Reyna is a winger or a central midfielder but his central performances are beginning to show that he needs to be on the ball as much as possible, leading to a good problem to have for the USMNT. During the World Cup, the MMA midfield of McKennie, Musah and Adams shined, helping stop attacks and also creating chances. Adams has become one of the leaders on the team, McKennie is one of the best set play threats, and after Reyna, Musah may be one of the biggest talents in the entire pool if developed correctly. 

For his club he was initially seen as the heir to Marco Reus, an attacker who plays centrally, usually off of a striker, but Reyna has been plying his trade on the wings recently where he's now behind Doynell Malen and Karim Adeyemi and doesn't seem to be viewed as a central midfielder for the club anymore. Prior to the World Cup, Reyna registered two goals and two assists for Dortmund in all competitions but after the tournament his production skyrocketed picking up five goals and two assists despite only starting two matches.

Edin Terzic found a role that suited Reyna, and it ended up being similar to the role that Berhalter planned to use the midfielder in during the World Cup as well, an attacking substitute who can add bite from the wing late in the match. Only being 20, coaches do have to keep a look out for Reyna's health to make sure that his potential is best utilized.

Can Reyna break into the MMA midfield?

If Reyna is going to be used centrally, it's not as simple as just dropping him in and saying that one of the trio is benched, because things have to be situational. Against Canada, a pure defensive midfielder wasn't needed as the Canucks allowed the attack to transition at will but, the same gameplan wouldn't work against better sides. Playing against better competition would obviously call for the inclusion of Adams when he's healthy. In other scenarios, maybe it's McKennie or Musah who sits to slide things into more of a 4-2-3-1 but it's clear that no one's spot will be guaranteed in the starting XI moving forward.

It's a good problem to have as it means that every player will need to ensure that they push as hard as possible to keep their places in the lineup. It also gives Berhalter immense depth for group stages of physical tournaments like Copa America. If players pick up yellow cards, they can now be rested in the group stage of tournaments instead of running players into the ground. One of the biggest issue that the USMNT ran into during the round of 16 at the World Cup was that key players were worn out after needing to play every minute of the group stage, but a healthy Reyna provides additional midfield and wing depth to keep everyone fresh. 

Avoiding injuries will always be the hope, and as long as Reyna can do that Berhalter absolutely has to figure out various ways to get him on the filed. But as long as expectations are clear, that should happen, and when it does, this will be an exciting midfield for years to come.