CHESTER, Pa. – There's a new skill that Gio Reyna has identified and been working to add to his building arsenal, and on Saturday night against Paraguay, the 23-year-old midfielder reaped the reward.
The payoff occurred Nov. 15 in the U.S. Men’s National Team friendly against World Cup-bound Paraguay. Reyna, earning his 33rd cap, nodded home the opening goal, the first time in his five-year professional career that Reyna has scored with his head.
“I’m 6-foot-2, and I like to think that I can jump pretty well,” he said. “The last few weeks, I've been working at my club with [Borussia Mönchengladbach] to stick around for a bit longer to practice some headers and finishing in the air. I’m happy to see that it's paying off a bit.”
Reyna’s goal arrived in the fourth minute of the match played in front of more than 17,000 supporters at Subaru Park. The setup man was fullback Max Arfsten who whipped a dangerous cross into the box following his own recycled corner kick. Two shot attempts caused the Paraguayan defense to scramble, and Reyna made the most of the momentary disorganization.
At the edge of the six-yard box, Reyna slipped in between two Paraguay defenders and created a pocket of space in the frenzy. Then, the midfielder used his length and excellent timing to connect with Arfsten’s cross. He delivered a finely placed header that dinged the underside of the crossbar and came down across the line.
“I just tried to be myself, play what the game gave me and work with the other very talented players around me,” Reyna said after the match. “They made my life easy, and I tried to help them out too. An overall great night for the team.”
The early finish settled the young playmaker seeing his first international minutes in nearly eight months and making his first start for the U.S. since July 1, 2024. Reyna’s most recent appearance for the U.S. prior to the Paraguay match was in the Concacaf Nations League back in March.
Reyna returned to the mix for November camp ready to contribute. He’s melded with a group that's been in good form in the lead-up to the FIFA 2026 World Cup hosted on home soil, helping the team extend its unbeaten streak against World Cup-bound opponents to four straight matches.
“We can see today that he was great, he scored and assisted,” USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino said. “The way that he always has the capacity to read the game and find the free space in between the lines, it was a nightmare for Paraguay. I think he did a very good job.”
“It’s just a Gio performance,” echoed midfielder Brenden Aaronson. “It’s a very mature performance. He’s an unbelievable player technically. He’s very smart, finding pockets, stuff like that. I couldn’t be happier for him. He’s an amazing player. He always shows up for the national team.”
Reyna and teammates connected from the get-go and continued doing so the rest of the night. Not only did he score the opener just four minutes into the match, the attacking midfielder set up the game-winner later in the second half. Reyna sent in the low, firm cross from the left wing that glanced off Paraguay’s Damián Bobadilla before striker Folarin Balogun pounced to pull the U.S. ahead in the 71st minute.
“Me and Flo have a great relationship,” Reyna said. “We've been together now for two, three years, and played many great games together, linked up with each other, and relied on each other at times. We have great communication, the eye contact to see where we're going to move and try to feed off each other. Now, it’s continuing to build together and try to score and keep assisting him. He makes my life easy.”
Reyna put in 75 minutes of work against Paraguay, even though after the match he admitted his fitness level is not quite at 100 percent. His contributions showed up on the scoresheet, and his work rate showed on the pitch. On one play, minutes after scoring in the first half, Reyna passed up a chance for a shot and dished a short pass to try and set up one of his teammates. When a Paraguay tackle sent the ball heading in the opposite direction, Reyna sprinted to chase the dribbler down. His pressure eventually led to a turnover that allowed the U.S. to regain possession.
“He’s had really good focus in training this week, really good intensity,” captain Tim Ream said. “He wants to be here. We know the quality that he possesses, and when he matches that quality with playing with intensity, like he did tonight, he gets rewarded... Going forward, he’s so confident and he’s added more intensity to his game. It’s only going to take him to another level.”
Reyna’s flick was not only his first headed goal for club or country – it also marked a milestone with a personal family tie. The goal brought his international tally to nine, surpassing the scoring total of his father, USMNT great Claudio Reyna, who finished his 12-year international career with eight.
After the match, Reyna revealed that while he didn’t know at first that his goal broke the tie, he and his father had some fun with it.
“I sent him a few texts teasing him after the game, but he was happy for me,” Reyna said.
