World Football

Gio Reyna has responded to a report from Paul Tenorio and Sam Stejskal of The Athletic that said the young Borussia Dortmund attacker showed an "alarming lack of effort in training" in the week before the World Cup.

Reyna released a statement Monday on Instagram in which he said he let his emotions affect his training and behavior after USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter told him he would play a limited role at the World Cup:

"Just before the World Cup, Coach Berhalter told me that my role at the tournament would be very limited. I was devastated. I am someone who plays with pride and passion. Soccer is my life, and I believe in my abilities. I fully expected and desperately wanted to contribute to the play of a talented group as we tried to make a statement at the World Cup.

"I am also a very emotional person, and I fully acknowledge that I let my emotions get the best of me and affect my training and behavior for a few days after learning about my limited role. I apologized to my teammates and coach for this, and I was told I was forgiven. Thereafter, I shook off my disappointment and gave everything I had on and off the field."

Reyna added that he was "disappointed that there is continuing coverage of this matter (as well as some highly fictionalized versions of events) and extremely surprised that anyone on the U.S. men's team staff would contribute to it," noting Berhalter had said in the past that team-related issues would remain "in house."

Berhalter alluded to the situation with Reyna at the HOW Institute for Society's Summit on Moral Leadership on Tuesday (h/t Kevin J. Delaney of CharterWorks), though he didn't name him:

"In this last World Cup, we had a player that was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field. One of 26 players, so it stood out. As a staff, we sat together for hours deliberating what we were going to do with this player. We were ready to book a plane ticket home, that's how extreme it was. And what it came down to was, we're going to have one more conversation with him, and part of the conversation was how we're going to behave from here out. There aren't going to be any more infractions.

"But the other thing we said to him was, you're going to have to apologize to the group, but it's going to have to say why you're apologizing. It's going to have to go deeper than just 'Guys, I'm sorry.' And I prepped the leadership group with this. I said, 'Okay, this guy's going to apologize to you as a group, to the whole team.' And what was fantastic in this whole thing is that after he apologized, they stood up one by one and said, 'Listen, it hasn't been good enough, You haven't been meeting our expectations of a teammate and we want to see change.' They really took ownership of that process. And from that day on there were no issues with this player."

CharterWorks later said in an editor's note that Berhalter's comments "were not meant to be public, but were erroneously greenlit for publication by someone representing the event organizers."

Berhalter also said the meeting was supposed to be off the record and that "it's not really important" who the player in question was, per ESPN's Jeff Carlisle.

But further reporting indicated the player was Reyna.

It wasn't hard to suss out that Berhalter was speaking about the 20-year-old, one of the USMNT's brightest young talents but someone who played a surprisingly small role in the team's four games at the World Cup.

While it didn't come as a huge surprise that Reyna didn't start—the midfield trio of Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah and Weston McKennie was the strength of the team, and wingers Christian Pulisic and Timothy Weah were its most dangerous attackers—the fact that he wasn't even a substitute in two games became a major storyline.

The team missed his creativity and passing while struggling to unlock deep defensive blocks, though he did play the entire second half in the USMNT's 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in the round of 16.

That may have been an indication that all had been resolved. It remains to be seen if the airing of the dirty laundry, even if unintentional by Berhalter, creates a rift between the two men or between Reyna and the U.S. Soccer Federation.

Giovanni Reyna was essentially a non-factor for the United States Men's National Team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and it appears his lack of playing time had to do with his effort in training sessions leading up to the tournament.

Sources told The Athletic's Paul Tenorio and Sam Stejskal that Reyna "showed an alarming lack of effort in training" before the USMNT's World Cup opener against Wales on Nov. 21. Further, Reyna's lack of intensity during a scrimmage against Al Gharafa SC on Nov. 17 "caused significant frustration within the team."

During the United States' scrimmage against the Qatari club, Reyna reportedly was "walking around" while he was on the field. His performance was so poor that it was unclear if he was trying to avoid injury or if he was upset about not being named a starter for the opener against Wales.

USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter never subbed in Reyna for the team's match against Wales, a 1-1 draw. After not being put into the game, Reyna threw his shin guards, according to The Athletic, and his lack of effort in training continued heading into the team's second group-stage match against England.

With his effort continuing to be a problem, DeAndre Yedlin and Aaron Long were among the veterans that spoke to Reyna, per The Athletic. Members of the coaching staff also spoke with Reyna before he apologized to the team.

Berhalter, without naming the player, appeared to discuss the situation regarding Reyna last week, saying that the issue was so bad that the team nearly booked him a flight back to the United States:

"In this last World Cup, we had a player that was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field. One of 26 players, so it stood out. As a staff, we sat together for hours deliberating what we were going to do with this player. We were ready to book a plane ticket home, that's how extreme it was. And what it came down to was, we're going to have one more conversation with him, and part of the conversation was how we're going to behave from here out. There aren't going to be any more infractions.

"But the other thing we said to him was, you're going to have to apologize to the group, but it's going to have to say why you're apologizing. It's going to have to go deeper than just, 'Guys, I'm sorry.' And I prepped the leadership group with this. I said, 'OK, this guy is going to apologize to you as a group, to the whole team.' And what was fantastic in this whole thing is that after he apologized, they stood up one by one and said, 'Listen, it hasn't been good enough. You haven't been meeting our expectations of a teammate and we want to see change.' They really took ownership of that process. And from that day on, there were no issues with this player.

"As a coach, the way you can deal with things most appropriately is going back to your values. Because it's difficult to send a player home. It was going to be a massive controversy. You would have been reading about it for five days straight. But we were prepared to do it, because he wasn't meeting the standards of the group, and the group was prepared to do it as well."

Reyna was subbed in during matches against England and the team's round of 16 match against the Netherlands. He did not play in the USMNT's final group-stage match against Iran. When he was on the field, he wasn't much of a factor for the Americans.

It's important to note that Reyna is just 20 years old and still has plenty of maturing to do. He will likely continue to be part of the USMNT moving forward, and fans will undoubtedly be looking for him to step up during the 2026 World Cup in North America.

Reyna plays his club soccer for Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund. In 10 matches this season, he has made three starts and tallied two goals.

Portugal were eliminated from the World Cup on Saturday in a stunning 1-0 quarterfinal loss to Morocco, and veteran forward Cristiano Ronaldo responded to the result in a Facebook post on Sunday.

"I just want you all to know that much has been said, much has been written, much has been speculated, but my dedication to Portugal has not changed, not for a moment," he wrote (via FanNation Futbol). "I was always one fighting for the objective of all and I would never turn my back on my colleagues and my country."

The 37-year-old came off the bench for Portugal's 6-1 round-of-16 win over Switzerland and its loss to Morocco after starting each of the country's three group-stage games.

He scored one goal at the tournament, making him the first player in history to score a goal at five separate World Cups.

"I fought for it," Ronaldo wrote of trying to win a World Cup title. "I fought hard for this dream. In the five appearances I scored in World Cups over 16 years, always by the side of great players and supported by millions of Portuguese, I gave my all. Leave it all out on the field. I never turned my face to the fight and I never gave up on that dream."

Given his age and the fact that Portugal appeared to simply play better for long stretches without him on the pitch, it's fair to question if Ronaldo's international career is winding to a close or if he'll outright call it quits for the national team after Qatar.

There is also uncertainty over his club career after Manchester United terminated his contract ahead of the World Cup following Ronaldo's explosive interview with Piers Morgan. In that interview he blasted the club, the Glazers' ownership and several managers, among others.

It remains to be seen which club will be interested in Ronaldo, a player who is largely limited to being a poacher and an ineffective presser at this point in his career, but one who has become accustomed to large wages.

Reports have suggested that Ronaldo could join Saudi club Al-Nassr on a deal worth €200 million ($210.7 million) per season, though the veteran forward has denied them to this point.

"No, it isn't true," Ronaldo told reporters last week.

So his future, for both club and country, remains in flux.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup field has been narrowed to just four teams, and there will be a ferocious battle to see who will be crowned champion in Qatar.

Some of the world's best players and teams have already been eliminated. Harry Kane and England, Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal and Neymar and Brazil all were knocked out in the quarterfinals this past week.

However, some of the sport's biggest stars are still in action, and the final is shaping up to be even better than the 2018 final in Russia.

Argentina, Croatia, Morocco and France have proved to be the top four teams in Qatar, and they'll battle it out in the semifinals this week to determine which two teams will be moving on to the final and which two teams will be battling for third place.

So, let's take a look at the upcoming schedule.

2022 FIFA World Cup Schedule

Semifinal 1: Argentina vs. Croatia, Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 2 p.m. ET on Fox

Semifinal 2: France vs. Morocco, Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. ET on Fox

Third-Place Playoff: Semifinal 1 loser vs. Semifinal 2 loser, Saturday, Dec. 17 at 10 a.m. ET on Fox

Final: Semifinal 1 winner vs. Semifinal 2 winner, Sunday, Dec. 18 at 10 a.m. ET on Fox

Schedule information via FIFA.com

Preview

When the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar began, not many believed that Croatia, No. 12 in the FIFA rankings, and Morocco, No. 22 in the FIFA rankings, would make the semifinals, and yet here we are.

However, the same cannot be said for Argentina, No. 3 in the rankings, and France, No. 4 in the rankings, as both teams have been dominant for many years.

France, the reigning World Cup champions, are aiming to become the first team since Brazil in 1958 and 1962 to repeat as winners and hoist the trophy in back-to-back tournaments. Led by Kylian Mbappé and Olivier Giroud, Les Bleus have been unstoppable in this year's tournament.

In addition to defeating England, the French have also defeated Australia, Denmark and Poland en route to the semifinals. They only fell to Tunisia in the group stage, and they did not start many of their regulars in that game because they had already qualified for the elimination stages.

To reach the final, France must defeat Morocco, one of the biggest surprises of the tournament.

Morocco's magical World Cup run began in the group stage, when they tied Croatia and defeated Belgium and Canada to win Group F. They then defeated Spain on penalties in the round of 16 before eliminating Portugal 1-0 in the quarterfinals.

France will have its hands full with Morocco, but it is the favorite to advance.

After suffering a 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in its World Cup opener, Argentina, led by none other than Lionel Messi, has been dominant.

Argentina went on to defeat Mexico, Poland, Australia and the Netherlands en route to a spot in the semifinals. They defeated the Netherlands on penalties on Friday to advance past the quarterfinals.

Argentina will arguably face a tougher opponent in the semifinals when they take on Luka Modrić and Croatia. After reaching the 2018 World Cup final and falling to France, the Croatians are desperate to get back to the final in 2022.

Following a draw against Morocco in their World Cup opener, Croatia has gone on to defeat Canada, tie Belgium and defeat both Japan and Brazil on penalties to advance to the semifinals.

But while Croatia will prove to be a formidable opponent, Argentina is favored to advance to the final for the first time since 2014, when they fell to Germany 1-0 in Brazil.

If Argentina makes it to the final, it will do anything possible to get Messi, considered the best player in the world, his first World Cup title in what will be his final World Cup tournament.