USMNT is ready to leave Gio Reyna drama behind

As the affable elder statesman of a U.S. team that has convened as a full-strength unit this month for the first time since the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Tim Ream was the obvious guy to ask about Gio Reyna.

Reyna headlines the 24-player U.S. squad summoned to central Florida ahead of CONCACAF Nations League games against Grenada and El Salvador. But not just because he’s among its most talented members.

Since the Americans’ second round elimination in Qatar, Reyna has been at the center of the drama between then U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter and the 20-year-old attacker's parents. After revelations became public that Berhalter nearly sent Gio Reyna home from the tournament for his poor attitude, Claudio and Danielle Reyna, both former national teamers, reported a 31-year-old domestic incident between Berhalter and his now wife in an effort to prevent U.S. Soccer from retaining the coach, an investigation into the matter found.

After the probe’s findings were released last week, U.S. star Christian Pulisic backed Berhalter and blasted the sideshow. "In my opinion, everything that happened with Gregg, first of all, [was] handled in an extremely childish manner," Pulisic said in an interview with ESPN. "I think we all have seen what's been going on. I think it's childish, it's youth soccer, people complaining about playing time. I don't want to go too far into that, but that's what we'll say."

Against that backdrop, Reyna’s presence in camp this week could be a little awkward. Ream insisted that it hasn’t been.

"What's happened with Gio in the past is in the past, and what happened at the World Cup happened at the World Cup, and we moved on from that as players," Ream said Tuesday on a Zoom call with reporters. "I think the biggest thing for us as a leadership, and all the guys in camp, is to see that he's working hard, training hard, that he's wanting to be here. And up to this point it's been nothing but positive."

Besides Pulisic, Ream, 35, has appeared in the most international games on interim manager Anthony Hudson’s roster. He was one of only three Americans, along with midfielder Tyler Adams and goalkeeper Matt Turner, who played every minute of the four U.S. games in Qatar. With World Cup captain Adams missing this month because of a hamstring injury, Ream is an obvious candidate to wear the armband in one or both Nations League games.

Captain or not, Ream is one of the dressing room leaders. That’s part of the reason he made sure to talk to Reyna shortly after arriving in camp on Monday. The U.S. visits St. George, Grenada on Friday before returning to Orlando to face the Salvadorans March 27.

"I've had individual conversations with him," Ream said of Reyna. "Those will stay between him and I, because I think that's important — to have that kind of line of communication and trust between players, between teammates.

"What he's feeling, what he's seeing, what his worries may be, will stay between him and I," Ream added. "That's important to allow him to move past everything that's happened. It's important for all of us to be able to move past that and work together as a good team."

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.

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