Gregg Berhalter’s first roster since U.S. Soccer controversy doesn’t include Gio Reyna
The reconciliation between national team coach Gregg Berhalter and star playmaker Gio Reyna will have to wait. Berhalter began his second stint as coach of the U.S. soccer team Wednesday by calling up a 24-man roster for September friendlies with Uzbekistan and Oman, but it did not include Reyna, who is sidelined with a calf injury.
Also missing because of injury or fitness concerns are midfielder Tyler Adams, captain of last fall’s World Cup team; defenders Walker Zimmerman and Cameron Carter-Vickers; goalkeepers Sean Johnson and Zack Steffen; and forward Josh Sargent.
“Watching the team from the outside in these last six months, it’s been very clear that there’s a strong identity both on and off the field. One of the exciting things is that we continue to build on this strong foundation,” Berhalter said. “I’m excited by the roster. It’s a really good mix of experienced guys that have been around for the last four years and some new players.”
After U.S. Soccer reviewed allegations of domestic violence, it is bringing Gregg Berhalter back to coach the men’s national team.
Twelve of the 24 players called up — among them forwards Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah, goalkeeper Matt Turner and defenders Tim Ream and Sergiño Dest — were on the World Cup team, while a dozen others have played in 11 or fewer games for the U.S. Among those is Danish American defender Kristoffer Lund, who played for Denmark in official competition at the youth international level but recently applied to FIFA for a one-time change of association to represent the U.S. at the senior level.
Players will begin reporting to training camp in St. Louis on Sunday with the first practice scheduled for Monday.
Adams has been out since March with a hamstring injury while Reyna only recently returned to training with his German club after recovering from a calf injury sustained in the Nations League final last June. Last fall, Reyna was nearly sent home from the World Cup after he pouted in reaction to Berhalter’s plan to use him off the bench in Qatar. Following the tournament, Reyna’s parents, angry over their son’s lack of playing time, informed U.S. Soccer of a three-decade-old domestic assault incident involving Berhalter and the woman who would become his wife, leading to a months-long investigation that threatened to derail the coach’s future with the team.
Christian Pulisic says the U.S. men’s national soccer team is trying to deal with the ongoing soap opera involving coach Gregg Berhalter.
After Berhalter was cleared of any wrongdoing, he was rehired in June and will coach the U.S. through the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. At the time of his reappointment, Berhalter said he had work to do to repair his relationship with Reyna, 20, but in a recent interview with Vanity Fair, he said he has yet to speak with the player and has consulted mediation experts for advice on how to move forward.
“Those are conversations that I look forward to having. It’s just understanding sensitivities around it,” said Berhalter, who apparently wants to have the first meeting take place in person. “For everyone involved, it’s been a lot for the last six months. And we just want to do it in the best possible way to put him in position to help the team in a way that we know he can.
“Unfortunately, he was ruled out for this camp. But I look forward to continuing to monitor his progress at Dortmund, and hopefully, to getting them back into camp in October.”
The roster Berhalter called up averages less than 24 years of age and includes 16 players from the team that won the Nations League title in June. The players come off clubs in eight countries, with four playing domestically in MLS.
The U.S. will meet Uzbekistan on Sept. 9 in St. Louis then play Oman three days later at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minn. The games are the first for the U.S. since it lost to Panama on penalty kicks in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July. That game ended in a draw after 120 minutes, leaving the U.S. unbeaten in its last 11 games under interim coaches Anthony Hudson and B.J. Callaghan.
Callaghan will remain with the team as an assistant, Berhalter said Wednesday.
The roster
Goalkeepers: Drake Callender (Inter Miami), Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest)
Defenders: Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo), Mark McKenzie (Genk), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg), Tim Ream (Fulham), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Midfielders: Johnny Cardoso (Internacional), Ben Cremaschi (Inter Miami), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven)
Forwards: Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin), Folarin Balogun (Arsenal), Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Tim Weah (Juventus)
