Soccer

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.

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.