Gio Reyna is headed back to the World Cup.
The U.S. men’s national team players were informed Friday if they were selected to coach Mauricio Pochettino’s 26-man roster. And Reyna, who was a part of the 2022 World Cup team but was nearly sent home from the tournament due to behavioral issues, has been selected, multiple sources tell The Athletic. An official squad announcement is planned for Tuesday afternoon in New York City.
Reyna was previously dubbed a “special situation” by Pochettino due to his potential, skill and ability despite the lack of regular playing time, which has set him apart from how he and others in the U.S. player pool have been judged.
Reyna, 23, played just 509 Bundesliga minutes for Borussia Mönchengladbach this season, though he appeared in each of their last five league matches and scored one goal to close out the campaign. He has nine goals in 36 caps and was selected to the most recent USMNT camp in March.
“I’m just hoping and waiting for the call-up, it would be an honor,” Reyna recently told media. “The national team means a lot to me. … I’d love to be there, have an impact on the team. It would be a dream to represent my country at the World Cup.”
Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter was also included on the roster, sources said. Berhalter became one of Pochettino’s favorite players, filling a big role for Pochettino at last summer’s Gold Cup. He was subsequently called into camps in September and November 2025 and March 2026.
Berhalter is the son of former U.S. men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter.
While there was controversy around the Reyna and Berhalter families coming out of the 2022 World Cup, the program seems to have moved forward. Gregg Berhalter called Gio Reyna into multiple camps after being re-hired as U.S. coach, including the 2024 Concacaf Nations League and the Copa América, while Sebastian Berhalter and Reyna have been teammates at multiple camps.
In a bit of a surprise, Real Salt Lake attacker Diego Luna was informed he is not on the final roster for the 2026 World Cup, sources briefed on the situation tell The Athletic. Luna’s RSL teammate Zavier Gozo was also informed he did not make the squad.
Luna’s omission is notable. He was a breakout contributor in 2025, appearing in all but one of the USMNT’s 18 matches last year. He had one cap prior to 2025.
The attacker was dealing with a muscle injury, but one source said he was good to go and the team had been cautious with the injury for his World Cup hopes. The 22-year-old has four goals and three assists in 608 minutes for RSL this year.
Luna has four goals in 18 appearances for the national team, plus 22 goals and 22 assists in the last three seasons with RSL.
Gozo, 19, was a longshot as he has not been called into a senior camp yet in his career but has been fantastic so far this season for Real Salt Lake. He is one to keep an eye on in the 2030 cycle.
Who else has Pochettino called in?
Elsewhere, multiple sources tell The Athletic that Leeds winger Brenden Aaronson was also informed he was on the team, as were center back Mark McKenzie and goalkeeper Matt Turner.
Aaronson has been selected to his second World Cup after representing his country at the 2022 tournament in Qatar. The 25-year-old is wrapping up what he called his best season as a pro, appearing in 36 of Leeds’ 37 Premier League games so far with four goals and five assists as the club comfortably avoided relegation.
McKenzie was one of the final cuts from the 2022 World Cup team, but has offered important depth for the U.S. under Pochettino, earning call-ups to seven camps under the Argentine coach. Turner, 31, started at the last World Cup, but has mostly been behind goalkeeper Matt Freese on the depth chart during Pochettino’s time in charge. He has had a strong season with the New England Revolution, leading all MLS goalkeepers in goals minus expected goals this year. Per American Soccer Analysis, he has let in seven fewer goals than expected based on the chances he’s faced.
Turner is on loan from Lyon, a deal that expires this summer. He has no future at the French club and the Revs are hoping he will remain in America. He initially broke out with New England and was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 2021 with one of the best shot-stopping seasons in league history.
Turner’s form earned him a move to Arsenal in the summer of 2022. He made seven appearances for the club before joining Nottingham Forest for a season, then was loaned to Crystal Palace for a year before returning to New England last summer immediately after Lyon signed him.
While the U.S. is planning its squad announcement for Tuesday, there is nothing binding Pochettino to announce the final 26-man roster on that date. Official rosters must be submitted to FIFA by June 1, at which point they are final. A player can be replaced after the deadline “only in the event of serious injury or illness,” per FIFA regulations.