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Gio Reyna makes Borussia Dortmund’s matchday squad

American teenage sensation Gio Reyna has been making major strides at Borussia Dortmund since joining the Bundesliga club from the New York City FC academy, and Saturday marked another step in his progression.

The 17-year-old U.S. Under-17 national team star made Borussia Dortmund’s matchday squad for its Bundesliga clash with Zack Steffen, Alfredo Morales and Fortuna Dusseldorf.

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Reyna didn’t wind up making his first-team debut, but Dortmund rolled to a 5-0 victory over Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Reyna, who helped lead the USMNT U-17s to the World Cup earlier in 2019, earned a first-team place after impressing with Dortmund’s U-19 team, which earned him a chance to train with Dortmund’s first team.

A skilled winger with excellent one-on-one ability, Reyna seeks to become the latest in Dortmund’s assembly line of young talent, the same setup that helped produce Christian Pulisic.

Dortmund could see Reyna as a long-term option to replace English star Jadon Sancho, who has been the subject of transfer rumors this winter and could be on his way to the English Premier League in 2020.

The son of former USMNT captain Claudio Reyna, Reyna joined Dortmund after originally developing at NYCFC’s youth academy.

A finalist for U.S. Soccer’s Young Male player of the year for 2019, Reyna scored six goals in the Under-17 Concacaf Championships earlier in 2019 to help the Americans qualify for the Under-17 World Cup. He heads into 2020 as a prospect to watch for the USMNT.

Comments

  1. A positive first step for Gio. BvB has a good track record of spotting and developing young talent. With a little little time & patience he’ll hopefully follow along the same path as Pulisic.

    That said it’s fun to imagine what the USMNT could look like by the start of the 2026 cycle:
    ———————————Sargent—————————-
    —–Pulisic—————-Ledezma————–Weah/Gio—
    ———–McKennie——————-Adams——————-
    –TBD————-Richards———–Miazga———-Dest–

    Keeper: Steffens, Horvath, Gonzalez
    Defense: Richardson, Miazga, Dest, Cannon, Gloster, A. Robinson, M. Robinson, CCV, EPB
    Midfield: McKennie, Adams, Ledezma, Pomykal, Parks, Hyndman, Llanez, Mendez
    Attack: Pulisic, Weah, Gio, Sargent, Sabbi, Soto, Wright

    A young promising group of players. Still a little thin at Striker, CDM, & Outside Back once we get past the Starting XI….but this will be a group that will be fun to watch develop over the next 2-3 years.

    Reply
    • Agreed this should be exciting.

      There are not many national teams that aren’t a bit thin at Striker, but Altidore is still serviceable and I expect him and Sargent to end up sharing that role depending upon injury and the inevitable “coach’s decision” for the next 3 or 4 years.

      Defenders typically do not have lots of flashy stats to get everyone’s attention so the shortage of defenders on your list is not necessarily much of a worry. You can’t pick defenders from some highlight reels, I hate to admit it, but Lalas has it right that a defender has to be good the entire 90 minutes or he is not good enough. It takes a lot of time, generally mutiple games, to evaluate if a defender has the required concentration for the full 90 minutes. Also it is hard to evaluate a defender accurately unless he is playing against top-notch competition. (You forgot Brooks and I think there are better choices than CCV, for example Opara, Long or Zimmerman any of which could still be in the picture 5 or 6 years from now.)

      Reply
      • The players I listed were in reference to the 2026 Cycle….Many of the players I listed are still developing (CCV, EPB, Robinson, etc…) but are currently seeing regular minutes. They might not be a fit right now, but a lot can change in 2+ years when they start entering the prime of their careers.
        Opara is currently 30 yrs old and not part of the current Player Pool. I can’t imagine him being part of the pool during the 2026 cycle.
        Long is 27, Zimmerman & Brooks are 26. They may be part of the team at the beginning of the Cycle, but don’t be surprised if they’re out of the picture by the time the Hex rolls around.

        There are any number of other players who could emerge to challenge for a spot, and some of the names I listed could easily drop out of the picture. Trying to pick a roster 3 years in the future is mostly about potential….not what they’re doing right now.

    • I don’t know man, its looking more and morw likely that Weston needs to play CB for the forseeable future. Also, Otawosie at Wolves in the Prem is making the bench for the first team too, so we can’t forget about him being in the running as a CB for the 2026 cycle

      Reply
      • He said “start of the cycle” so 2-4 years depending on if he means end of 2022 WC or actual start of qualifying. Still pretty far out, 2 years ago who knew Ledezma, Llanez, or Richards.

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