After a cagey first half and a rather tense second, the USMNT toppled Iran 1-0 and booked their slot in the final 16 of the World Cup.
Pegged to be 3rd place contenders by many, the Americans broke through the noise and did so in impressive fashion.
Their young side displayed periods of quality football across all 3 games, with numerous players earning global recognition through their performances.
The likes of Tyler Adams, Timothy Weah and Yunus Musah are some of the young names that have wowed fans around, although that list includes the surprising absence of Giovanni Reyna.
A highly-touted talent, the winger was among the final candidates for the 2022 Golden Boy award just weeks before he got selected for the national side.
Representing Borussia Dortmund at the club level, Reyna is an important member of the squad at just 20 years old, although the same cannot be said for the national side.
His appearances for the USMNT are far too few for a player as promising as him, something which fans have expressed repeatedly.
The starkest display of exactly how under-utilized Reyna happens to be at the World Cup itself. The winger has been on the pitch for a mere 7 minutes in 3 games, shocking, to say the least.
Naturally, he hasn’t been in the best of spirits while watching from the sidelines. And a recent video captured during the USMNT’s celebrations after qualifying says it all about his mood.
Captured during their arrival at the team hotel, the Americans looked absolutely pumped as fans and staff members welcomed them with a party atmosphere.
Among the welcoming committee was a reasonably excited Christian Pulisic, who won the game for the US by risking it all.
Led by Sergino Dest, the Yanks entered the hotel on cloud 9 and the vibes were electric, with the sole being the dejected expression on Reyna’s face.
Tucked behind the overjoyed duo of Timothy Weah and DeAndre Yedlin, Reyna looked in no mood for a party.
Headphones on and discontent all over his face, the forward didn’t even stop to greet Pulisic and just continued heading straight.
As far as body language goes, it cannot get any more obvious than that.
It didn’t long for fans to take note of his demeanour, and many seemed to sympathize with him.
It’s pretty obvious that Gregg Berhalter needs to send some playing time his way, otherwise, he’ll be dealing with a very unhappy camper.
Fortunately, there aren’t any signs of a fallout between Berhalter and Reyna, yet, which certainly bodes well for the overall mood within the squad.
