FIFA Men's World Cup

Why Gio Reyna is the USMNT's X-factor in World Cup 2022

Updated Nov. 17, 2022 2:51 a.m. ET

AL-RAYYAN, Qatar — It’s no secret the United States men’s national team is heading into the 2022 FIFA World Cup healthier than it has been in a long time.

Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah are key contributors who all missed significant time over the last year-plus with injuries. As it stands, all of them should be available and ready to play when the Americans open their group stage slate Monday against Wales (2 p.m. ET, FOX and the FOX Sports app).

So should another hugely important player: 20-year-old attacker Giovanni Reyna. Perhaps the most naturally talented of any member of the 26-man U.S. roster, Reyna barely played during World Cup qualifying because of a severe hamstring tear that was followed by a series of setbacks. But his return to something approaching full fitness after almost an entire calendar year on the sideline could spell the difference between success or failure for the USMNT in Qatar.

"He’s a great player," Pulisic, the Champions League-winning Chelsea winger and U.S. headliner, said Wednesday of Reyna who, like Pulisic is a product of German talent incubator Borussia Dortmund. "We need him in this team, and when he’s healthy we’re better."

For the uninitiated, Reyna is American soccer royalty. His father, Claudio Reyna, played in three World Cups for the USMNT, captaining two of them. His mother, Danielle Egan, is a former U.S. women’s national teamer who won four national titles in four years with the University of North Carolina.

Gio, as he is known, is considered one of the top young prospects in the sport. He's the youngest American ever to appear in the UEFA Champions League. And now, after his seemingly unstoppable trajectory was slowed first by the pandemic and then by his maddening injury woes, has a chance to be the breakout player for the youngest team at this World Cup.

"I always knew I was gonna be ready for this moment," Reyna said Wednesday when asked by FOX Sports if he ever doubted he’d be back in time. "I think it was always in the back of my head, too: make sure I was ready for the World Cup."

Giovanni Reyna: Youngest American to play in the Bundesliga

Meet the youngest American to play in the Bundesliga, Giovanni Reyna. Dortmund have once again found a star on rise.

Boasting his father's silky touch and off-the-charts soccer IQ and his mother's all-world athleticism, Reyna offers a different dimension to U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter — even if he still might not be quite able to play all 90 minutes of the Americans’ three first-round matches. He’s a game-changer. And his presence alone ought to give the USMNT a boost.

"He just has that demeanor about him: When he steps on the field, he changes," U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner said after training at Al Gharrafa Stadium on the outskirts of Doha. "For a young kid, he’s like a leader on the team. I don’t think he knows that yet, but I can see it in him."

What you can’t see are nerves. Perhaps because of his pedigree, Reyna is unflappable. Not only is he unfazed by the magnitude of playing in front of a global audience for the first time in his young career, he seems to see it almost as his destiny.

"It’s something you dream of your whole life, and it’s what you work toward," he said before quickly adding: "But now that I’m here, we gotta perform."

Gio Reyna scores first-career USMNT goal

With this goal, Reyna became the third-youngest goalscorer in USMNT history.

That Reyna always expected to play at this World Cup doesn’t mean the last year-plus was easy. On two separate occasions last season, he returned to Dortmund’s lineup only to re-injure himself and walk off the field in tears. The second instance ended his 2021-22 season and cost him the beginning of this one, plus four U.S. matches in June.

Not wanting to risk anything, the Bundesliga power has closely managed Reyna’s minutes this season. That patience has paid off recently, with Reyna appearing in each of the Black & Yellow’s 10 games before the World Cup break.

"I’m feeling good, I’m feeling strong," said Reyna, who will wear the same No. 21 shirt his dad did at the 1998 World Cup. "It’s obviously still managing a few things, [and] it’s gonna take time, but I’m ready to help the team here."

Just getting to this point is a reward for his patience.

"World Cups don’t come around too often," he said. "It’s a special moment."

It might be even more special for his mom and dad, who will arrive in Qatar two days before the Americans’ opener.

"They’ll probably be crying when I’m playing in the first game," said Reyna, who hasn’t seen his parents in months. "I’m sure it’s going to mean a lot to them."

Read more:

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.