Gio Reyna was named to the U.S. men’s national team roster for the first time since March, the midfielder just one of several fresh faces on the November squad as head coach Mauricio Pochettino once again goes with an experimental approach.
This month’s roster features 11 players who did not participate in the October friendlies, a 1-1 draw with Ecuador and a 2-1 win over Australia, some of the turnover explained by player availability. Tyler Adams returns after missing last month’s matches while awaiting the birth of his second child, while Sergino Dest and Ricardo Pepi are back in the fold after recovering from some injuries. A handful of the notable exclusions are down to injury, too – Christian Pulisic picked up a hamstring issue against Australia, while Antonee Robinson has been dealing with a knee injury for several months now.
Even then, some of the absences – and inclusions – are more notable than others. Goalkeeper Matt Turner, the 2022 World Cup starter who has not played for the USMNT since June, was left off, as were fellow World Cup veterans Weston McKennie and Tim Weah after playing in the October games. Reyna, meanwhile, is back in the mix for the first time since his summertime move to Borussia Monchengladbach in a desperate need for playing time and is joined by club and country teammate Joe Scally in his first call-up in months.
The USMNT continue their preparation for the 2026 World Cup with a friendly against Paraguay on Nov. 15 and one against Uruguay on Nov. 18. Both of this month’s opponents have already qualified for next summer’s tournament, with Uruguay serving as the latest opponent in FIFA’s top 30 to face the U.S. en route to the World Cup.
USMNT November roster
GOALKEEPERS (4): Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Jonathan Klinsmann (Cesena), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew)
DEFENDERS (9): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Sergino Dest (PSV Eindhoven), Alex Freeman (Orlando City), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse FC), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), John Tolkin (Holstein Kiel), Auston Trusty (Celtic)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/ENG), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Gio Reyna (Borussia Monchengladbach), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyon), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew)
FORWARDS (5): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Haji Wright (Coventry City)
Gio Reyna returns
On skill alone, Reyna is easily one of the most notable players in the USMNT’s talent pool but things have rarely gone according to plan for a player with plenty of promise. The 22-year-old is injury-plagued but even at full fitness, he has struggled for regular playing time at the club level. Reyna has only 10-plus league games in a season once in his entire career – the 2020-21 season with Borussia Dortmund – and has not played a 90-minute league match since 2022. That level of inactivity meant he slid down the national team’s depth chart, even if the years-old family feud with ex-USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter was removed from the equation.
Even as Reyna said he would not “take all the blame” for the drama that ensued after the 2022 World Cup, rooted in reports that he was nearly kicked off the team for “not meeting expectations on and off the field,” the player did admit that his USMNT destiny was in his own hands. Playing time at the club level is a must for Pochettino and though Reyna has started just once for Monchengladbach, injuries again hampering his ability to play, he is steadily building some match fitness. It was enough to earn at least one more look from Pochettino, who seems intent on learning as much about everyone in the player pool as possible before locking in his World Cup roster.
Forward race heats up
The USMNT’s results have trended upward in recent months, in large part because the team now boasts a handful of forwards who are in impressive form. After an injury-plagued year, Folarin Balogun has two goals and one assist in his last four games for the national team, while Haji Wright bagged a brace against Australia in his first start under Pochettino. The pair have coupled that with strong performances for their club teams and for November, another in-form player will join them – Ricardo Pepi.
The PSV striker is back with the national team for the first time in a year, spending much of that time dealing with a knee injury. He has picked up from where he left off at the club level, though – he has five goals in 12 games across all competitions, most recently a stoppage-time equalizer in PSV’s 1-1 draw at Olympiacos on Tuesday. For the first time in a long time, the U.S. may have an embarrassment of riches in that position, fostering a sense of competition that should benefit the national team in their build-up to the World Cup.
Matt Freese, the new No. 1?
Even as Pochettino opts for experimentation, a trend seems to be emerging in the goalkeeper position. The job now feels like Matt Freese’s to lose, the New York City FC shot-stopper going from relative obscurity to starting 11 of their last 12 matches. Those 11 caps make him the most experienced ‘keeper on the roster, with 2022 World Cup starter Turner nowhere to be seen. He was named to the October roster but did not play a single minute. Freese is now flanked by goalkeepers with little experience. It is too early to suggest Turner might not crack the World Cup roster, but his days as the team’s go-to in goal may be over with Pochettino perhaps focusing on giving Freese as much experience as possible before the big event.
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