Dortmund Forbid Reyna From Playing In Gold Cup
The USMNT will be without Giovanni Reyna for July's Gold Cup campaign as Borussia Dortmund insist the teenager returns for preseason.
GOAL
United States national team prodigy Giovanni Reyna will not be cleared to contest the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Borussia Dortmund confirmed on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old is already a key player for both club and country, having starred for Dortmund throughout the 2020-21 season.
But, while he is currently on international duty for the USMNT, he will be expected to report back to Dortmund once the CONCACAF Nations League comes to a close.
What was said?
"Maybe Gio Reyna will join [the squad] a few days later, but then we will be counting on him," Sebastian Kehl, head of the Dortmund players' department, explained to Ruhr Nachrichten.
"He won't contest the Gold Cup."
The bigger picture
The USMNT are involved in two different tournaments this summer.
Reyna joined up with his international team-mates following the close of the Bundesliga season in order to play in the Nations League, which plays its delayed semi-final and final stages on June 3 and 6 respectively.
The USMNT take on Honduras in the last four, with the winner meeting either Mexico or Costa Rica in the final.
Just over a month later the Gold Cup group stage begins, with the US drawn alongside Canada, Martinique and a still to be determined preliminary qualifier.
Based in the US, the competition runs until the final on August 1 - less than two weeks prior to the start of the Bundesliga season.
Reyna, therefore, would miss almost the entire pre-season period at Dortmund should he reach the final with his country, clearly an unappetising prospect for the club.
Back in February, USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter suggested that he would not call on his stars to play in both competitions.
“One thing I can guarantee you is a guy like Christian Pulisic is not going to be playing Nations League and Gold Cup – it's not going to happen," he explained to Extra Time.
"These guys need a break, so I can imagine them playing one of those tournaments and then getting rest. That's going to be true for a lot of our guys who are going through similar situations right now.”
