Did Gio Reyna Deserve U.S. Men's Team Call Up? 'Has to Show That He Can Fit'

Two upcoming games for the U.S. men's national team, and we're going to see a familiar face come back into the mix. 

Midfielder Gio Reyna, who was part of the 2022 World Cup squad but has struggled at both club and country since, was one of the surprise call-ups for USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino's roster. It'll be the first time Reyna (son of former USMNT star Claudio Reyna) will be back with the team since a disastrous window back in March in which the U.S. lost to Panama and Canada in the Nations League competition. 

Plenty of reaction on Reyna's return – including from our very own Alexi Lalas, host of the "Alexi Lalas' State of the Union" podcast. 

Surprising? Yeah. Deserving? Well, that remains to be seen.

FOX Soccer analyst and former U.S. men's team player Stu Holden certainly thinks Reyna has plenty to prove in the two tough friendlies against Paraguay (Nov. 15) and Uruguay (Nov. 18), with both those teams having qualified for the 2026 World Cup. 

"He is not being gifted this opportunity because he is Gio Reyna and the name. He is a good player. We know a player with undeniable talent. He is also playing at a big club," Holden said as he filled in for Lalas on Thursday's "State of the Union" episode. 

"He's not the first person that's been called when he is not playing every single week a lot of minutes for his club."

Why all the fuss about Reyna being on this team? He is only 22 years old, and he did get a move to German Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach after a prolonged saga at Borussia Dortmund. But rumblings and persistent reports of attitude issues stemming from those March games have seemingly put him out of favor with Pochettino. 

And it's not like he's been shining at Gladbach. He's only played