Thursday night’s United States men’s national team 3-1 victory vs. Jamaica in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals was about as ugly as it gets. There are still some positives to be pulled for the game like the performance of Gio Reyna.
Were you watching Nottingham Forest??
Reyna is on loan from Borussia Dortmund to Forest until this summer and it’s been a nightmare move for the 21-year-old.
Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo has been reluctant to play the USMNT forward giving him just 39 minutes of action in the past two months with no starts.
Reyna was even left off the squad for two of Forest’s previous EPL games. It’s obvious that he’s not too high of a priority for Forest, but perhaps the two-assist performance against Jamaica could put him back on Nuno’s radar.
Reyna and Haji Wright completely changed the tide of the game in extra time twice and twice combined to secure the victory.
GIO REYNA TO HAJI WRIGHT MAKING MAGIC FOR THE #USMNT! pic.twitter.com/p5R7PX1unI
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 22, 2024
IT'S THAT REYNA-WRIGHT CONNECTION AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/BQ082jBHgk
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 22, 2024
You’re trying to tell us that Forest — who now sit in the relegation zone following a point deduction — don’t think they need this kind of spark?
USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter said when he selected the Nations League roster that he had hoped to show off Reyna. Berhalter also defended that decision on Thursday with a subtle jab at Jesse Marsch.
“He’s performed extremely well for the national team even though he hasn’t made his impact yet at Forest like he’d want to, we still think he’s a valuable member of the team and we want to showcase him to make an impact as well,” Berhalter said.
Reyna didn’t start the USMNT’s semifinal and was brought on as a substitute at halftime and played all of extra time. His 75 minute cameo on Thursday is almost twice as much time as he’s gotten with Forest the past two months.
It seems the Forest faithful are also asking the question as to why Reyna isn’t getting any action with the club. On Instagram Nottingham Forest posted about Reyna and Matt Turner’s performances. Nearly all the comments were about Gio.
View this post on Instagram
“Start him or what’s the point of signing him?????”
“Why won’t we play him? He has so much talent to offer to our squad. We only have him for like 9 more games then he’s going back to Germany!”
“Reyna had a cracking game… How he isn’t getting a game at Forest is beyond me!”
“Criminal how Gio Reyna has not had game time!”
The people have spoken Nuno. Get Reyna on that field if you want to avoid seeing Forest get relegated.
