Gio Reyna Shows Why He's Worth the Hassle With 2 Goals Against Ghana

Any animosity between Gio Reyna and United States Men's National Team soccer coach Gregg Berhalter wasn't noticeable after Tuesday's 4-0 USA in Nashville against Ghana.

Reyna scored two goals in the friendly victory. The goals were the first since June 2021 for Reyna in a USA uniform. He scored the match's first goal in the 10th minute and put the ball in the net again in the 39th minute.

"Gio got two goals and, besides the goals, it was how he brings players into the attack, how he is able to be calm on the ball," Berhalter told reporters after the match. "He gives us that calm and that poise that we need at times, but then is decisive when making final passes. To me, this performance was just really an indicator of his entire camp."

Berhalter's comments about Reyna's focus during training sessions starkly contrasted with how he described Reyna after a disappointing American performance in the 2022 World Cup.

Speaking in what was intended to be a closed session in December, Berhalter criticized an unnamed player for their behavior "on and off the field." The comments were made public days later, and along with a report by the Athletic regarding his conduct before the World Cup, Reyna was subject to strong public scrutiny.

Gio's parents, Claudio and Danielle Reyna, got involved in the situation. Long-time family friends of Berhalter, the couple appealed to then-United States Soccer Federation sporting director Earnie Stewart regarding their son's treatment. In doing so, they also shared an accusation of domestic violence against Berhalter dating back to his college days.

"As part of that conversation," Danielle said in a statement as reported by the Associated Press, "I told Earnie that I thought it was especially unfair that Gio, who had apologized for acting immaturely about his playing time, was still being dragged through the mud when Gregg had asked for and received forgiveness for doing something so much worse at the same age."

The federation named an interim coach while they investigated the matter. Ultimately, the organization released findings that cleared Berhalter, finding he wasn't guilty of withholding information during his hiring process. The investigation detailed the incident between Berhalter and his now-wife, as well as the measures the coach took afterward to address his actions. Berhalter returned to his role in June 2023.

Overcoming a public feud with embarrassing details getting rehashed has to be a difficult task. However, Berhalter seems to believe that the team is better because of Reyna.

"He had a very strong camp, a great mindset, great training sessions. To me, it's not only the offensive stuff that he did," Berhalter said. "Tonight is more of what he does and what he did off the ball. I think it was relentless work. We talked about that before the game, relentless work-rate defensively, and he certainly did that. It was a good step for us."