Gio Reyna happy lack of club playing time not held against him by US coach Mauricio Pochettino

Gio Reyna is happy his lack of Bundesliga playing time isn't being held against him by Mauricio Pochettino as the U.S. coach prepares for the last two friendlies before picking his World Cup roster.

Reyna is among the 27 players in camp for matches against Belgium on Saturday and Portugal on Tuesday. The 23-year-old midfielder, a son of former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna, has had just 28 minutes on the field in the past three months for Borussia Mönchengladbach.

“It’s always easier when you’re playing week in and week out. My case is not like that,” Reyna said during an online news conference Thursday. “Fortunate and of course always honored and happy to be back in with the coach’s trust. If the opportunity comes up, I still feel very prepared to make an impact this camp on the field.”

After Pochettino took over the U.S. in late 2024, he stressed the importance of gaining regular club playing time.

“We need them to be involved in the competition in their clubs,” he said that November.

Reyna transferred to Gladbach last summer after making just 14 league starts in his last four seasons at Borussia Dortmund plus two during a loan to English side Nottingham Forest. He had made just one start and five substitute appearances in the Bundesliga this season when Reyna reported for a pair of November U.S. friendlies.

Reyna scored in his first international start in 16 months to surpass his father in career international goals with nine and then set up Folarin Balogun’s tiebreaking goal for a 2-1 victory over Paraguay.

After entering as a second-half substitute in a 5-1 rout of Uruguay, Reyna returned to his club and made four starts, then had an unspecified muscle injury.

Reyna hasn't been in a game since playing six minutes on Jan. 11 and 22 more on Jan. 17. Gladbach said on Jan. 25 he had an unspecified muscle injury and while Reyna returned to dress for the Feb. 28 match he has been an unused substitute in four straight games.

Still, Pochettino brought him back to the national team for these two games in Atlanta.

“Gio was fantastic in November with us,” Pochettino said last week. “We really know that he’s a very special talent and very special player and I think to give the possibility, even if he’s not playing too much in his club, he can be very useful for us."

Pochettino no longer is demanding club playing time in every situation.

“It's an art because every single player is different and can add different things to the team," he said. “We cannot follow some rule, because I think it’s not fair to judge all in the same way. ... I think the most important is what the player can add to the team and if it can be the right player to help to perform, the team."

Reyna was nearly sent home from the 2022 World Cup by then coach Gregg Berhalter for alleged lack of effort in training, causing Reyna’s parents to contact the U.S. Soccer Federation about a three-decades-old domestic violence allegation involving Berhalter and the woman who later became his wife. A USSF investigation concluded Berhalter did not improperly withhold information, and Berhalter was rehired only to be fired after a first-round exit at the 2024 Copa America.

Pochettino was hired that September.

“Me and Mauricio have a great relationship, speak often,” Reyna said. “I guess you could say it was sort of one of his more difficult decisions, or I guess controversial decisions to maybe bring me in. Again, can’t appreciate it enough, love this team, love this staff, love this group of people.”

“I feel prepared regardless of the playing-time situation at club,” he added. “So if the chance comes up in the next two games, I have confidence in myself and the team that I can do some good things and make an impact to help.”

After the 26-man World Cup roster is announced on May 26, the U.S. faces Senegal on May 31 at Charlotte, North Carolina, and Germany on June 6 at Chicago.

The Americans open their second World Cup at home in June 12 against Paraguay at Inglewood, California, then play Australia a week later at Seattle. The U.S. opponent for its Group D finale was narrowed Thursday to Turkey or Kosovo, who meet Tuesday for a World Cup berth. In playoff semifinals, Turkey beat Romania 1-0 and Kosovo upset Slovakia 4-3.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - United States' Gio Reyna (7) celebrates his goal during the first half of an international friendly soccer match against Paraguay, Nov. 15, 2025, in Chester, Pa. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, File)

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves are leaning on Chris Sale to provide much-needed stability for a rotation that has been decimated by injuries this spring.

Sale, 36, will start Atlanta's season-opening game against Kansas City on Friday night. It will be Sale's second-straight opening day start and seventh of his career.

Sale, who won the 2024 NL Cy Young Award in his first season in Atlanta, has never been more important for a team's hopes entering a season. A devastating series of injuries to starting pitchers has forced first-year manager Walt Weiss and the Braves to remake the rotation behind the left-hander.

Weiss said Sale is “a true ace.”

“Not everybody can say that they have that guy,” Weiss said Thursday before a workout at Truist Park. “Taking all things into consideration, one of the best I’ve been around. The way he competes, the way he works, a teammate, the way he treats people. He’s about as good as it gets. And seeing him taking the mound for us tomorrow at home to open the season, it’s perfect.”

The bad news began at the start of spring training when right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach was placed on the 60-day injured list due to inflammation in his right elbow. Schwellenbach had surgery on Feb. 18 to remove “loose bodies” in the elbow and rotation candidate Hurston Waldrep had a similar procedure later in the month.

On March 9, the Braves announced left-hander Joey Wentz, another rotation candidate, would miss the season after he tore the ACL in his right knee while covering first base in an exhibition game.

On Monday, the Braves said right-hander Spencer Strider, one of the team's top starters, will start the season on the injured list because of a strained oblique.

Schwellenbach and Waldrep could return around the middle of the season. The Braves are hopeful Strider, who was placed on the injured list retroactive to Sunday, might return in April.

For now, Reynaldo Lopez, Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder are expected to line up behind Sale. Rookie Didier Fuentes, who made the opening day roster as a middle reliever after an impressive spring, could be needed as a starter. JR Ritchie, who will open the season at Triple-A Gwinnett, is another option.

“We’ve taken some hits in the rotation,” Weiss said. “But I still think it’s a really solid starting rotation. And the hope is that these guys step up. And I think they will.”

There is some irony that Sale is almost the last man standing from the Braves' original projected rotation. He hasn't been known for good health in his 15-year career with the Chicago White Sox, Boston and Atlanta.

Sale made only 31 starts for the Red Sox from 2021-23. He missed the 2020 season after having Tommy John surgery. He made only two starts in 2022 after he fractured a rib and then broke his left pinkie. His final season with Boston ended in August 2023 when he broke his right wrist riding a bicycle.

Sale was 7-5 with a 2.58 ERA with Atlanta last season, when he landed on the injured list on June 21 with a fractured left rib cage and didn't make his next start until Aug. 30.

Sale posted a 2.75 ERA this spring and said he is excited to make another opening day start.

“I feel like it’s an honor,” Sale said Friday. “I’ve always taken it very seriously and I just appreciate it. You can say it’s just another start but opening day, there’s something really special to it. It’s like the first day of school. It is very different than all the other ones, so I definitely appreciate it and I’m thankful for it, I’m excited for it.”

The start will come three days before Sale's 37th birthday.

Sale is 25-8 with a 2.46 ERA in 49 starts and one relief appearance with the Braves. He made the All-Star team in 2024 and 2025, raising his career total to nine.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

FILE - Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale delivers in the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in North Port, Fla., Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)