Gio Reyna returns to the USMNT for big October games vs. Germany and Ghana

Update: On Oct. 9, Malik Tillman had to withdraw because of an injury. Alejandro Zendejas replaced him.

The U.S. men’s soccer team has played 14 games since departing the World Cup last December. Some of them have been exhibitions; some of them have been official. Some have had the big-name stars; some have had prospects. But none has really mattered all that much.

Now that changes, and it will stay changed. The countdown to the 2026 World Cup, which the U.S. will co-host with Canada and Mexico, officially began Thursday when manager Gregg Berhalter named his squad for marquee friendlies this month against Germany and Ghana.

The biggest headline is Gio Reyna’s inclusion for the first time since Berhalter returned to the job last month. Although Reyna took part in U.S. teams earlier this year, this is the first time he’ll be available to play for Berhalter since the post-World Cup scandal that rocked not just those two men, but their families.

» READ MORE: A timeline of the Reyna-Berhalter scandal that rocked U.S. soccer

Berhalter said he and Reyna met over Zoom a few weeks ago to clear the air.

“The conversation was positive,” he said, though he didn’t offer much detail. “There is a difference between a Zoom call and being in person, but I think that both intentions are positive. And the idea is that, you know, we work together for the team to be successful. And I think we’re both prepared to do that.”

Berhalter further said that “although it may take some time, we’re both aligned with what we want to accomplish.”

Though Reyna will command the spotlight, the questions directed at him won’t just be about Berhalter. Reyna, 20, hasn’t played all season for his club team, Germany’s Borussia Dortmund because of the latest in a series of annoying injuries. He’s been on the bench for Dortmund’s last four games amid hints that he’d get on the field, but he did not.

“How many minutes can we give him on the field, that he can build up in a safe way, and then go back to Dortmund and really propel him to make a big impact for his club?” Berhalter said. “We’re going to be creative with the minutes — we want to certainly get him on the field.”

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As for local representation, Medford’s Brenden Aaronson and Hershey’s Christian Pulisic made the cut, but Bear, Del.’s Mark McKenzie and Media’s Auston Trusty did not. Berhalter noted that McKenzie had a broken toe that cost him four games for his club, Belgium’s Genk, before a return to action Thursday.

But even if he was healthy, he might not have made this squad. Cameron Carter-Vickers’ return from a nearly-two-month injury absence allowed him to join a quartet with Chris Richards, Tim Ream, and Miles Robinson that might just be the top of the depth chart. McKenzie, Walker Zimmerman (who likely will visit the Union with Nashville SC on Saturday), Trusty, and veteran John Brooks are in the next tier.

“You have four guys that could easily make the case to be on the roster that aren’t on it, and that’s just the depth of our player pool right now,” Berhalter said.

The biggest absences overall are midfielder and captain Tyler Adams, who’s got a hamstring injury; and Antonee “Jedi” Robinson, who’s dealing with a groin injury that’s threatening to become a sports hernia.

“He got injections before the last national team break, and he’s still struggling with that a little bit, and we want to get ahead of it,” Berhalter said. “I think this was an opportunity where he needs to cool this down because he does have inflammation in that area, and he’s in some pain.”

» READ MORE: Expect the 2026 World Cup schedule to be announced by the end of the year, FIFA says

Berhalter’s first games back in charge of the program were last month, but a booked-up global calendar left the team only able to schedule relative lightweights Uzbekistan and Oman. Germany’s visit was set a long time ago, and drew headlines as soon as it was announced. The same with Ghana, a longtime nemesis of the Americans at past World Cups and a fine sparring partner anytime.

It so happens that Germany and the U.S. are in similar boats right now because Germany is co-hosting next year’s European Championship. So it has room in its calendar that its star-studded continental brethren do not. Die Mannschaft, as the program is nicknamed, will play the Americans on Oct. 14 in East Hartford, Conn. (3 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62, Universo, Peacock), then travel south to Philadelphia to face Mexico at Lincoln Financial Field on Oct. 17 (broadcast TBD).

Ghana will travel the other way: a meeting with Mexico on Oct. 13 in Charlotte, N.C. (broadcast TBD), then to Nashville to face the U.S. on Oct. 17 (8:30 p.m., TNT, Universo, Peacock).

Germany has a local tie: Its new manager, Julian Nagelsmann, is a former protégé of Union sporting director Ernst Tanner. Thirteen years ago, Tanner brought Nagelsmann into the coaching world at TSG Hoffenheim. Nagelsmann, now 36 (and still quite young by coaching standards), has since led Hoffenheim, RB Lepizig, and Germany’s biggest team of all, Bayern Munich.

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The U.S. team’s next games (and Mexico’s) will be against lesser opponents, but with huge stakes: a home-and-away quarterfinal series in the Concacaf Nations League next month that will double as qualifying for next year’s Copa América. The U.S. is guest-hosting another special expanded version of South America’s continental championship, with that region’s 10 teams plus six from this one. But because the U.S. is a guest host of someone else’s event, it has to qualify.

The quarterfinal opponent will be known after a quick group stage featuring lesser Concacaf teams finishes this month. Though the quarterfinal losers get a second chance in subsequent playoffs, the Americans won’t want to suffer that embarrassment.

Goalkeepers (2): Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest, England), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest, England)

Defenders (8): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic, Scotland), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo, Italy), Tim Ream (Fulham, England), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace, England), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany)

Midfielders (7): Johnny Cardoso (Internacional, Brazil), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo, Spain), Lennard Maloney (Heidenheim, Germany), Weston McKennie (Juventus, Italy), Yunus Musah (AC Milan, Italy), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands)

FORWARDS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin, Germany), Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco, France), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg, Germany), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan, Italy), Tim Weah (Juventus, Italy)

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