Pochettino Praises Reyna After Standout Performance Against Paraguay
The United States national team coach, Mauricio Pochettino, praised Giovanni Reyna’s performance after his outstanding participation in the 2-1 victory over Paraguay on Saturday at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania.Reyna, 23, started for the first time with the US national team since July 2024. She scored her ninth goal in 33 international appearances in the fourth minute, heading in a cross from Max Arfsten. Then, she played a key role in the winning goal in the 71st minute, by centering the ball, which was deflected by a Paraguayan defender and reached Folarin Balogun to score. USMNT player ratings: Reyna impresses with 9/10 in return vs. Paraguay Currently at Borussia Mönchengladbach, after a less prominent stint at Borussia Dortmund, Reyna seeks to fulfill the high expectations placed upon him, after his career was hampered by injury problems and lack of regular playing time.“The way he reads the game and finds the free space between the lines, I think it was a nightmare for Paraguay, and he did a very good job.”
Mauricio Pochettino
Saturday was his first start for the club or national team since September 14th and only the second since March 1st. Pochettino stated that Reyna needs to earn more playing time at club level, as there are only three matches left for the United States before the squad for the 2026 World Cup is announced.
Regarding his goal and his return to the national team’s training camp since spring, Reyna stated to TNT Sports after the match: “It was a perfect week, sincerely happy to be back, playing with this group, with this coaching staff and a little gift for me [with the goal]”. After a difficult start to Pochettino’s tenure, the USMNT is now undefeated in its last four matches and continues to gain momentum ahead of co-hosting the World Cup in seven months. However, Pochettino believes that more can still be developed.“He scored, he did a very good job. Very happy with him. He showed why he was a starter and has confirmed that he is a player who needs to improve, because he needs to play more at his club, but today we can see that he was great”.
Mauricio Pochettino
Pochettino was also unhappy with a fight that broke out in added time of the second half. American defender Alex Freeman and Paraguayan captain Diego Gómez tried to retrieve a ball that went out in added time of the second half, and they began to fight when both benches joined in. Omar Alderete, from Paraguay, who was not in the match, was shown the red card and American midfielder Cristian Roldan, the yellow card.“I think we created chances, we were better. A team that I think is very competitive and difficult to beat. But that’s not enough. We are happy, [but] we need to move forward, because we need to improve, improve, improve and get to the World Cup at our best, at our peak.”
Mauricio Pochettino
Following the victory, Pochettino and his American team will close out this month’s international break with an additional friendly against Uruguay on November 18 in Tampa, Florida.“Those kinds of situations are very, very, very dangerous, a very dangerous situation. I think we have to pay attention, because anything can happen. I don’t like it, I don’t like this kind of situation. I don’t know how this started. I can’t say anything, because I need to see or watch on television, why it all started.”
Mauricio Pochettino
