After more than 600 days, Gio Reyna found himself back on the scoresheet for the U.S. men’s national team, but head coach Mauricio Pochettino wants to make sure that neither Reyna nor American supporters get too far ahead of themselves.
The 22-year-old picked up the first goal of the match just four minutes in, heading home a skillful cross from Max Arfsten, before helping to set up Folarin Balogun for the eventual winner in the 71st minute.
“We can see today that he was great, he scored and assisted,” Pochettino said of Reyna’s return. “The way that he always has the capacity to read the game and find the free space in between the lines, I think it was a nightmare for Paraguay. I think he did a very good job.”
Gio Reyna scores his first USMNT goal since March 2024 💥 pic.twitter.com/ejy6XrZrt2
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 15, 2025
Reyna’s performance saw the U.S. get one of their most talented players back. While he hasn’t been in form for Borussia Monchengladbach since leaving Borussia Dortmund over the summer, he showed on Saturday that the skills that made him one of the world’s best teenagers are still very much present.
“He did a very good job. So happy with him, and he showed why he started,” Pochettino added, before throwing cold water on expectations. “He needs to improve because he needs to play more in his club.”
In the Bundesliga, he has plagued a mere 147 minutes over six appearances.
Reyna’s Influence
In addition to his goal, Reyna made eight passes into the final third and three defensive contributions, and was one of the most influential players in the match. At the same time, he looked to elevate forward Balogun’s play, not only setting up his winner, but linking up well throughout the match.
“I think we both can do a bit of everything,” Reyna told the TNT broadcast. “We work on it in training, we have a really good relationship on and off the pitch. It's great to play with him, it makes my life easy.”
Yet, it wasn’t all pretty and organized for the USMNT. In the 91st minute, Alex Freeman and Gustavo Gonzalez got into an altercation over a disputed throw-in call, sparking a bench-clearing brawl.
The end of USA vs. Paraguay got 𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐘 ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/LjkybUJA4B
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 16, 2025
And although Reyna wasn’t immediately in the brawl, it brought him right back into the competitive international environment, something he desires with an eye toward the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“Honestly, I have no idea [how it started]. I was kind of looking off to the side, and then Alex and someone from their team seemed like they weren’t very happy with each other. Yeah, it’s a friendly game, but it’s a competitive environment. We wanted to win this game,” Reyna said. “Obviously, we’ve played friendlies pretty much all last year. So yeah, it’s important to get that competitive energy in this group and take it with us.”
Next Opportunity Looms
With the USMNT now unbeaten against Top 40 sides in four straight games for the first time in 10 years, Reyna will look to impress again when they face Uruguay on Tuesday as they look to extend that streak in their final match of 2025.
Although Pochettino may not be convinced of Reyna after one match, another solid performance could see the midfielder find himself in contention for the 2026 World Cup squad, and even into a potential starting role.
“What we need to do is create the platform for our players to perform and you saw today that all of our players showed their quality to play entertaining football,” Pochettino added. “We need to keep going, we need to keep improving. We need to arrive at the World Cup in our best shape, our best form, and show that the team is not about 1-2 names, it is about the team, the collective and the togetherness.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mauricio Pochettino Sends Warning to Gio Reyna After Dazzling USMNT Return.
