USMNT seeking Gio Reyna ‘solution’ after testing World Cup as Anthony Hudson plans meeting with Borussia Dortmund star

• Questions asked of playmaker at Qatar 2022
• Controversy sparked after that tournament
• Talks held with starlet in Germany

WHAT HAPPENED? The talented 20-year-old playmaker endured a testing time before, during and after the 2022 World Cup – with injury issues at Borussia Dortmund put to one side, only to then see questions asked of his attitude and controversy sparked by comments made by and about former USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter. Hudson, who is now in interim charge of the senior U.S. side, has travelled to Germany to meet with Reyna and hopes that whoever fills his role on a permanent basis heading forward can find a way to bring the best out of a precocious talent who should have a prominent role to play for his country.

WHAT THEY SAID: Hudson has said of Reyna: “I think it was important for whoever is in this role, whether it’s me or someone else, the important thing now is to go and address the situation in Germany. It would be negligent of anyone who is in this role not to go and do that because he’s an important player and we need to find a solution. He is a talented, important player, a young player and it needed to be addressed.

“The way I look at it is, in (World Cup) camp, this happened. Us as a staff made a decision to take action and there was a response from the player — a positive response. I’m not condoning anything that’s happened, but it was more on a human level to go and see how he was, as a young kid who has been through a lot.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Reyna has registered three goals through five appearances for Dortmund since the World Cup finals in Qatar, rediscovering his spark at club level, and Hudson added on his desire to meet with the youngster in a bid to iron out any issues: “We spoke a little bit about his situation at the club, we spoke about what this next period looks like, and that was it. We didn’t want to put him under any pressure and just wanted to go and meet with him, see how he was doing and that was it. The meeting went well. The other stuff is separate from the kid, from the player.”

IN THREE PHOTOS:

WHAT NEXT? Reyna has been unable to nail down a regular starting berth for Dortmund as they compete for the Bundesliga title in 2022-23, but he is held in high regard by everyone at Signal Iduna Park and is expected to be a key man for club and country in the years to come.