The World Cup Star That Didn’t Play

[@alexroland853]

From a Dortmund perspective, I want to highlight that Gio Reyna got his hamstring injury while on national team duty. As it’s common knowledge that the risk of reinjury is very high with this particular injury, our club has reintroduced him very slowly. Although he has not played a full game yet, he was then called up by his national team for qualifiers against the our club’s recommendations. Of course, his hamstring injury came back and subsequently, Dortmund had lost Reyna for almost a full season. After putting his body on the line for the US, he was then told right before the tournament he was to take a “limited role”. I can’t believe we lost Reyna for more than 9 months - and for what? So he can sit on the bench and become some kind of moral leadership success case study for Berhalter to showcase on a conference just a week after their world cup exit? I’m furious about all of this. While it’s good that Reyna’s unprofessional behavior was reprimanded and he apologized, the person who is most unprofessional seems to be Berhalter, who broke the confidentiality of the dressing room and can be made directly responsible for the injury saga.

[@slipknottin]

This is such a stupid take.

[@thargoff]

This. ^

[@phillipward7296]

"Berhalter, who broke the confidentiality of the dressing room and can be made directly responsible for the injury saga", among other things.....

[@onizuka255]

This brotha spoke facts.

[@StoutProper]

Well said

[@bestbrenin]

What makes it even worse is that Gio wasn´t fully fit when he got called up in September to play a friendly against Saudi Arabia. Dortmund adviced against the call up, since Gio was still on his way back from injury and far from his best form. So he goes to the national team and comes back injured, missing the next two weeks and only left with a month to get back to fully fit.

[@davemojarra4734]

Infuriating

[@nummer3357]

In his defence Berhalter was pretty solid for me on FM08 with 1860 München

[@StoutProper]

14 years ago in a computer game…

[@JuanCanuck]

@@StoutProper wooosh

[@visanion1361]

That was the best comment :)))) i played that too

[@Ceriummm]

I like this style of video. The good thing for Reyna? He's 20, he has at LEAST 3 more world cups in him, he'll keep balling at a level the MAJORITY of the us team will never dream of getting to, I hope he gets over this, he's such a talent.

[@lunalane]

That is the problem, world cup is once every 4 years and a lot can go wrong. He is already collecting some injuries, usa could not qualify etc. You need to play on the world cup that you are fit to play and your nation is qualified or you may actually miss the opportunity all together. Like our generation because we did not qualify to WC in I think 20 years (Czech republic), so our players like Shick and others will probably never play in one. All in all, we can see that nepotism is bad no matter what and I hope Reyna will have the opportunity to start on WC again

[@jessehuerta77]

@@lunalane USA is hosting bro, MEXICO, USA , and Canada already qualify lol

[@robert2690]

@@jessehuerta77 And?

[@godseye13k]

The USA team are up and coming doubt that if u may. But the facts are there they didnt bother with football for along time. Now they do give them more time they will become a force. If they truly want it they have a country that dwarfs most. Have no doubts they will become a force if they want to.

[@reintaler6355]

@@robert2690 and what?

[@EstariaValens]

Very interesting. If all this hadn't been aired in public, Berhalter could have just said "He's a more attacking force, and I wanted to play a more defensive style. But his offensive skills could be invaluable in late game situations when the score is tied, or we are down." Easy peasy. People may or may not have bought that, but it's a completely believable statement.

[@shadoekim]

Coach should have said " i love parking the bus and thats why Gio reyna will never start games for us " Would have made everyone knows his team selection strategy

[@slipknottin]

@@shadoekim except you can clearly see they didn’t park the bus apart from the last ~15 or 20 minutes against Iran

[@doyce100]

Until you look at the Wales game and see that with the game tied and the team desperately needing somebody, anybody to come in and provide a goal... and on comes Jordan Morris, with Gio literally RIGHT THERE

[@slipknottin]

@@doyce100 there was no way Greg would play Gio after Gio gave no effort in the practices right before that to the shock of his teammates. And Jordan Morris came on with 2 minutes left, it’s not like he played a half.

[@doyce100]

@@slipknottin almost like bad process leads to bad results

[@EdBball99]

I appreciate you laying things out like this, being critical of Gregg and the circumstances of his hire without just mindlessly trashing the man like so many USA soccer commentators have been doing for a long time. I am not Gregg’s biggest fan but it gets old listening to people’s content who bash Gregg but never clearly lay out why they keep bashing him, like it’s just a trend they are going along with. This video shows there is legit reason to support the USMNT not bringing him back for the next cycle

[@urmomlovesmymilksteak]

Maybe because a mindless hire deserves mindless bashing idk. It’s not like people are going to list off all of the reasons so eloquently each time they want to complain about a man who just doesn’t belong. Is there a lot of negative simple criticism? Yes. Is it justified? Absolutely. The information in this video has been well known for 4 years and his style of football is dreadful for creating chances. It’s been frustrating as fuck but we move on.

[@HannahHäggAutisticTransWoman]

Gregg Berhalter he was at hammarby from 2012 to 2013 he got fired very quickly for not being good enough. In 2014 hammarby got promoted back to allsvenskan (swedish pemier devision) now hammarby is 3:rd in the highest division here in Sweden and will get to play continental matches.

[@MyNameIsOcean]

YWNBAW

[@sunnyhvar1992]

...you sound so deflated here, and it comes across so well tbh, great video - yeah, it's absolutely mad that Reyna is an impact sub at best in this side... looking forward to seeing the NA teams at the next world cup, both Canada and USA could have things to say - Canada with their debut appearance out of the way (really felt like the lack of experience with matches like this hurt them, while also being in a group that as it turns out had Belgium, and the 3rd and 4th team of the tournament), and USA with Pulisic still/moreso as a leader of the team, plus Reyna as a (even) more developed, and more mature player, on top of players like Adams who also impressed this tournament, I feel like you could be a dark horse in 4 years' time

[@mattbaker3569]

Almost sounded like he had made this at gun point as it seemed so flat and disinterested, though I get why the video was made in the style it was

[@LordWay]

it'll be canada's 3rd world cup in 26

[@crawfordbrown75]

Claudio Reyna and Giovanni van Bronckhorst played together at Rangers during 98/99/00 (IIRC) Claudio had his child and name him after his buddy van Bronckhorst.

[@emilecoutu8301]

Trinidad and tobago lives rent free in Zealand head

[@rafekatchadorian465]

that's two of them thangs

[@TheAuthorizedJay]

Big ups Tobagans

[@ricardohrodrigues]

Bleacher Report posting a picture of Santiago Solari while writing that Lopetegui wanted the USMNT coach job really is the most american a sports website could be

[@niamh9500]

I think a updated version is needed Zealand as it all feels very much like a Soap Opera

[@kieronparr3403]

I didn't know any of this. Thanks Z

[@samtay6181]

I don’t necessarily have a problem with the fact that Reyna had been told that he was going to play a limited role - if that’s the tactical decision made by Berhalter, for whatever reason, that’s acceptable, at least he told Reyna beforehand. It isn’t even as if the USMNT flopped, they got through their group and went out to a very good Netherlands side. What is a problem is the aftermath - understandably Reyna would be upset, at that age particularly he’s still learning to deal with major disappointment like that, and for Berhalter to let it get that out of hand is unacceptable. Just as a point of information, I’m English so feel like this is a fairly unbiased, although possibly much less well-informed view.

[@maxpekich5826]

Tim Howard (one of if not the best usmnt players of all time) also posted on his Instagram story that this stuff should always stay in house and the usmnt should do something about it

[@francolive5718]

Always felt this World Cup was a little tester for USA, Mexico and Canada in preparation for 2026. They will all be older wiser and more experienced and ready for a better showing next time.

[@CarlManvers2714]

I think this whole fiasco says a lot about the media covering the USMNT as well. Multiple outlets (who were careful to word their articles in ways that portrayed Berhalter in a better light) reported that the players voted and nearly sent Gio home which was quickly disproven by the players themselves. Actively complicit in the attempt to turn this into an anti-reyna story and make Berhalter look like some great coach. Let's also remember that Greg basically said we lost to the Netherlands because our players aren't good enough and used a completely inaccurate stat to back up his claim.

[@winsingtoniii681]

I agree Berhalter's hiring process was very shady and I do not want Berhalter's contract extended myself (for multiple reasons). It was also a huge mistake by Berhalter to give his unnamed example to an event, private or not. Of course people were going to figure out it was about Reyna and of course it would come out. That said, while I have a lot of respect for you Zealand, I think your own personal biases have gotten the better of you on some of your analysis of this incident. Which I get, because as a US fan I am super high on Reyna myself, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't evaluate this situation more objectively. For instance: 1. I completely disagree with Berhalter telling Reyna he would have a limited role (he should have played much more), but to say that "justifies everything Reyna did" is a big reach to me. Of course Reyna is disappointed and frustrated, and that's fine, but he is a professional athlete. It is his job to perform and try in training, and it is not an excuse to not try because you didn't like what you heard. Brenden Aaronson is a regular Premier League starter and isn't a starter for the US himself, and I cannot imagine him not trying in training as a result, nor have we heard about him not trying in training. He's also not that much older than Reyna so it's not just an age thing. 2. Reyna is possibly the most talented US player on paper. But the game isn't played on paper, and Reyna has been injured a lot and hasn't had the opportunity to really cement himself in the US team due to those injuries. Players like Weah, Pulisic, Adams, McKennie, Musah, etc. have all been far more important than Reyna for the US in the past year or two. In the wing positions Reyna was primarily competing for, Weah and Pulisic deserved to start on the basis of their play for the US in World Cup Qualifying and they demonstrated why they are starters for the US at the World Cup. Weah had a great goal and almost had a second that was barely offside against Iran, plus was great in other phases of play off the ball. Pulisic had a goal and two assists, there's no argument for Reyna to start over him right now (maybe in the future as Reyna develops there will be). Morris shouldn't have come off the bench over Reyna, that I agree with. But a lot of the talk about Reyna is based on his talent and potential as opposed to what he brings right now over other players. I hope that he continues to develop as a player but despite his huge technical talent he is not necessarily a better choice than Pulisic or Weah right now (though he is a better choice than Morris). It must be said that Reyna's defensive work rate is hit and miss and does need some work, which is why I don't think he plays in the midfield for the US, as Musah and McKennie offer much better defensive work rate than he does. Hopefully that is something that comes with time for him. 3. I really don't like the take that Aaron Long doesn't deserve to give Reyna advice because he is a worse player. That is an awful and immature attitude for someone to have and if that is Reyna's attitude (which I hope it isn't), it would not serve him well at all. Just because someone is less talented than someone else in a particular area does not mean they can't give good and useful advice and offer a different perspective. It must be said that Reyna does come from a privileged background, with two former pro athlete parents and already making big money for Dortmund at 20. Aaron Long comes from a very different background where he had to work construction in the MLS off-season when we was 23 because he couldn't afford to live off his MLS salary. He honestly probably has something valuable to share with Gio on the importance of hard work. 4. Agreed that Reyna's apology is great and elegant. But it was also almost certainly written or heavily edited by a PR agent so of course it was (most player communications on sensitive subjects are), not sure it really changes anything about the incident. Again, totally agreed that Reyna is very talented and should have played more. And totally agreed that Berhalter should not be extended and should not have told the story to an event. But none of that means that Reyna gets a free pass on this, he should not have stopped trying in practice in the first place (it's fine to be frustrated, not so fine to just not try), and it's not fair to suggest that Reyna shouldn't have to listen to senior players simply because they aren't as technically talented as him.

[@Elena-gj6ow]

Yeah, peaople excusing his behaviour because he was told he'd play a limited role are just doing him a disservice. If he doesn't truly grapple with why what he did was incredibly stupid, he won't keep growing. He needs to overcome the mentality of giving up because a coach doesn't fancy him (rightly or wrongly) because it'll keep happening. That's football. And with all the responses like this video, I'm afraid he'll now continue to think he was unfairly wronged and not wrong himself for acting up. If you want the best for him, tell him stories about what happened to players who gave up because they thought the coach was a twat. There's plenty of them. Don't sew pillows under his arms (if that makes sense in english lol).

[@winsingtoniii681]

@@Elena-gj6ow Completely agreed, and I do hope that the "US Golden Boy" mentality a lot of people like Zealand clearly have towards him doesn't result in him thinking he can do whatever he wants and still deserve to play. Professionalism matters, and refusing to try in training is just bad professionalism, whether the manager did the right thing initially or not. He is young though, so hopefully he can mature and move past this sort of attitude. This coddling of him by a big portion of the US fanbase is not a good look in my opinion.

[@richardyaboi1902]

This is a brill video Z, loved the way you spoke with clear passion for the national teams success

[@Beeady]

Zealand definitely has a twitter alt dedicated to stanning pulisic and hating on mason mount

[@markusmidtboe957]

Reyna should not get a free pass just because he's talented, and has ability or his age! If you ain't performing in training, then you should be benched or out of the squad! And If you ain't performing in training and on top of that "mops" around in or around training. Then the coach has every right to consider not starting/using you. The manager is also at fault for not properly handling the situation, and making a mess out of it!

[@Canev821]

The USA can’t be to picky we are desperate I’d give him a pass

[@pablodebella7695]

Im from Argentina and we gladly donate some talented blood to the US to make them better, they deserved to get farther in the world cup, they are just missing a natural scorer

[@luckie2903]

Tbh this may be your best Video. That low energy connected with sick burns was funny as hell. Can absolutely understand your disappointment in the two Berhalters

[@de132]

To be fair to Aaron Long, there are a lot of different dynamics in different locker rooms. Maybe he's personally respected from a teammate perspective 🤷🏿‍♂️

[@justinwong3755]

Yea, he's a veteran and could have some qualities that make he good at the role (e.g. being a good communicator), although admittedly I don't know Long well enough to say so. But basing the argument on "Long is not a good footballer" and saying that this conversation is what "pushed Reyna over the edge" seems a bit baseless. Maybe there's something that wasn't covered in the vid, I'd be happy to be corrected if that's the case.

[@phillipward7296]

@@justinwong3755 I doubt it's what pushed Reyna 'over the edge'. I think that's the only wrong part of this video. But it's fairly irrelevant to have Long come up to Reyna because although Reyna was sulking and behaving improperly, Berhalter had already stepped in a huge pile of crap. So Reyna sulking is so after-the-fact of Berhalter putting a stick in his own bike spokes that managing Reyna at that point isn't the real problem.

[@MattandJose]

I can see the pain in your eyes Z. At this World Cup the US had a solid team, young, but solid. And even though they got through to the next round, I think they had room for more. Unfortunately though, as always, if its not the government being shady, its these guys too. They go and hire someone who was not ready for this job. You had Pulisic, Musah, Gio, Adams, and you fucked up. I feel the pain man, I was cheering for Ecuador, Argentina, USA.

[@aj-np5dg]

Oh my god Zealand when is part 2 coming??? 😂😂 Story is that Reyna's family is the "blackmailing teenager" 😂😂 What a story man

[@grokopf142]

Really wanted to see Reyna ball out at the WC such a shame he got like no time

[@nert-13]

Greg grew up with Claudio Reyna (Gio's dad) and they played on the USMNT together. This literally makes no sense

[@linuslaw9648]

Idk maybe he has beef with claudio

[@InfamousSlappy]

@@linuslaw9648 So he's sticking it to Gio at the expense of his own success? Don't make sense

[@downnice95]

@@InfamousSlappy it does when he is a hack manager

[@OmR713ro]

Jessee Marsch next for WC '26

[@Beech1900pilot]

This didn't age well

[@TacomaParkour]

Yooooooooooooooooooooo Shade throw at JMO was uncalled for...

[@TacomaParkour]

And he's not a striker. He's a winger!

[@citizenstranger]

im sure this comment is already here, but morris scored against el salvador in the nations league in june of this year. but i dont think morris should have even been on this squad period.

[@rhyswilliams7113]

Whilst if doesn't help now, the US have some fantastic young talent and you saw that in this World Cup. Reyna will go back to Dortmund and carry on being a hero and you'll see him and the others hopefully come back and showcase what they can do in 2026. Berhalter in 2026 will likely be in coaching obscurity or delivering the "I was an international coach" line at after dinner events.

[@tenther5019]

Thanks for laying this out. It clarifies much. "Moral leadership" my @ss.

[@alexherrera84]

I must say I highly disagree with your viewpoints on certain teammates trying to help or motivate their other teammates. So what if Aaron Long is not a world-class player? Are you saying he should keep quiet and not try to help his teammate out? I'm sure Rayna himself would not appreciate you talking about his teammate like that

[@bjoujak]

One of your best videos Zealand. The way you choose to explain the situation, through a biased perspective, is crazy because it doesn’t feel like you have biased. Everything you say is extremely fair, and you’re educating the rest of us that didn’t know of the situation. Fire Gregg Behalter!

[@Adamdidit]

He probably shouldve also educated everyone that Berhalter's contract ends next week so people stop saying this.

[@bjoujak]

@@Adamdidit ha definitely. I think he wanted to make the point of what he did and why it’s unforgivable that the USMNT FA did what they did in hiring him to begin with. I guess I got too caught into “fuck Greg” when that’s not his message.

[@hands575]

Incredible mispronunciation of Lopetegui 😂😂

[@jamesdrylie5584]

While Berhalter probably handled this wrong but Zealand is being WAY too easy on Gio. Yeah, it sucks that you are told that you are going to have a limited role but that doesn't make it right to stop trying hard in training. Johnson, Horvath, Roldan, LDT, and Long probably all knew their roles would be limited and they still worked hard. Sure, Gio is more naturally gifted than any of those guys but there are 25 other guys out there that have worked their entire lives to get to this moment and it is not fair for one guy to screw it all up because he isn't happy with his role. And I don't care that he's a teenager. He is a professional making millions of dollars a year. What he SHOULD have done when hearing that his role would be limited was to bust his ass in training every day and show Berhalter why he was wrong.

[@phillipward7296]

It's like you *almost* get it. We essentially wasted a WC cycle on Berhalter-ball and Berhalter decisions, but you're saying a 19-20 year old in the Bundesliga should have been more mature after being wildly undervalued for no reason? It's like 15 crap-the-bed situations by USSF and Berhalter, and then you're blaming Reyna for ripping a fart.

[@jamesdrylie5584]

@@phillipward7296 whether or not Berhalter should have been the coach is irrelevant. He can be a bad hire and Gio can still have acted poorly at the World Cup. Both of those can be true. Also, who does Gio start over? Not Pulisic, not Weah, the MMA midfield is the strong point of the team. He isn’t a striker either, so where should he have started? His role was always going to be as a substitute. And when he was told that, he basically said “screw it, if I’m not starting, I’m not trying.” That’s a horrible attitude and he 100% deserved to be benched for that. He is a great talent but he is not unquestionably better than the guys who started ahead of him. Lastly, Zealand’s point about Aaron along is just ridiculous. Who cares if Long isn’t some world class talent? He is a veteran player who sees a young guy with an attitude issue and confronts it. Just because Gio is more talented doesn’t mean he is immune from criticism.

[@phillipward7296]

@@jamesdrylie5584 He plays over Morris, son. And there's nothing irrelevant about Berhalter being involved in this crap.

[@Anderslaw]

@@phillipward7296 ffs Jordan Morris only played 3 fucking minutes at the entire World Cup. Reyna was preferred to him. This video is incredibly biased and completely from the fan perspective. Berhalter is shit, there's no doubt about that, but the situation is far more nuanced than it's being made out and I'm amazed that Zealand would take such a black and white viewpoint

[@phillipward7296]

@@Anderslaw Bud, he played 12 minutes in game 1 while we needed a goal. FFS with basic facts.

[@de132]

Harsh on Jordan Morris but true and fair 😂. Also, that "Seattle Sounders" sounded biting 😡😒😂

[@felipeulloa1602]

Reyna was in fact injured, hadn’t played for months before the World Cup. Barely coming of an injury and was advised not to play in the World Cup by the Borrussia staff

[@samnixon99]

Aaron Long's 30. Doesn't really matter that he sucks, he's been around a while - It's entirely reasonable he be one of the guys to step in

[@nicklikethesoup]

Only if he is considered a locker room leader, but one thing no one has ever said about Aaron Long is he is a locker room leader. And when you’re Reyna’s caliber, the only people who have played at a level you can respect talking to you are Pulisic, Adams, McKennie, and Ream. They are the EPL/Champions League players that act as leaders. Notice how their names weren’t mentioned. They didn’t try to talk to him. The team’s actual leaders. It was literally Berhalter’s guys. What’s worse, berhalter had a vote by the players on whether to send him home or not. He is the USMNT’s best player, and you’re letting people vote on whether he is sent home because of his perceived lack of effort after you basically told him he’s not good enough to play and re-triggering his injury during the September call-up against his club’s advice. No, Berhalter’s management is not good enough for this talent group and Aaron along shouldn’t have said anything except to Berhalter with “it doesn’t how much effort I put in, I’ll never be as good as Reyna, please put Gio in before me. I want what’s best for the team and Gio playing is better for us than myself.”

[@jdjphotographynl]

@@nicklikethesoup Then again, Aaron Long probably knows very well he's not that good a player. And at age 30, he's already not the youngest anymore, and it's quite likely he won't make it to the next world cup if the US would qualify for it. Ofcourse he's going to want to play, even if that's at the expense of Gio Reyna, because it's basically his only shot to ever play at a world cup. That he didn't in the end in that sense could be considered karma.

[@Hasorane]

Great video. I had no idea. Cheers

[@AnonymousFootballer]

The USMNT system is ruled by nepotism and favoritism. As a player that went through it but was constantly passed up, along with other better players, because we didn’t know the right people would truly make you sick. We have had the talent to go further but it is being wasted by our complete inability to foster it. All you really have to do is look at the best players our national team has they are all trained abroad. Almost like they would be passed up in our domestic training system if they were here.

[@phillipward7296]

Preach it.

[@alexslater1051]

Yes he’s one of the better players and yes he should have been playing. But Z I don’t think you’re correct in saying it’d be expected that as a result of this, he moped around or didn’t show up. Players are players, not managers. Just because this manager is poor doesn’t mean the player gets a free pass because he disagrees. You have to stay professional in these environments. Both parties are at fault.

[@phillipward7296]

But GB is far more at fault: 1) more responsibility = more at fault, 2) the trouble kicked off because he was grotesquely wrong, 3) he aired dirty laundry for no reason, after it was settled, thus breaking team trust.

[@MazeMouse]

US with a tactically sound head couch would likely have demolished the Netherlands. Not playing your best (or aleast, top 5) player in a world cup alone should be enough to instantly fire him. But that entire gaffe afterwards, presenting his handling of the situation as somehow being good leadership... A situation he created himself by being a truly awful people manager to begin with... He already needed to go to get rid of the nepotism stink. He should never lead another USMNT game after this complete and utter failure of professionalism.

[@queebeert1484]

thats was an interesting way of saying Julen Lopetegui’s name

[@GIBBO4182]

USA really impressed me this tournament, as a WBA fan I’m sure you and I would’ve loved to have seen Daryl Dike fit and playing. The only thing USA were missing imo, was a genuine threat upfront

[@winsingtoniii681]

Agreed, though I was disappointed with how little Reyna played as a US fan, I honestly don't think he would have changed all that much for us given our lack of a reliable goalscorer (Reyna is more of a creator himself). We desperately need a real striker who can reliably score goals at top level.

[@highphin9413]

@@winsingtoniii681 maybe instead of Jordan Morris getting a call up they could’ve called Ricardo pepi who was on fire in Eredivisie with 6 goals in 9 matches. He decided to pick the US over Mexico and we instead chose Jordan Morris.

[@winsingtoniii681]

@@highphin9413 I would have liked to see Pepi on the roster myself, I have a lot of hope for him for the future. Don't think he's the difference making goalscorer yet though, he went a year without scoring a goal and still needs to develop. He also didn't look ready for the Bundesliga, and that's really the level I'm talking about needing a reliable goalscorer at as opposed to Eredivisie level (Pefok looked like maybe he would achieve that but then completely dropped off form after his first couple months in that league, so not sure he's really the answer either). But I would have brought Pepi myself.

[@bossman5141]

I completely understand the frustration and why on earth the manager didn't think to build the team around Reyna I don't know. However this doesn't justify his lack of effort in training. He's a professional, get on with and show the manager he's wrong. Take your chance when you're on the pitch and make him change his mind, don't just throw tantrum and half ass it.

[@nevilleneville6518]

Exactly this. Shocked to see Zealand defending this kind of behaviour. This is top level professional sport, you want to play? You have to *take* the shirt off the guy currently wearing it. Many retired pros talk about the moment when they were 18, 19, 20 and they realised that playing in the first team meant taking someone's job.

[@Jaco059]

We all know Gregg must go

[@thargoff]

The issue is then why Berhalter made it public afterwards especially since Reyna acknowledged it and apologised and it was basically dealt with internally.

[@slipknottin]

@@nevilleneville6518 not only does Zealand defend this behavior, he pretty much completely glosses over it like this is the expected behavior from any player who isn’t picked to be a starter. Absolutely absurd. Brendan Aaronson didn’t act this way when he wasn’t selected to start in any match.

[@Twitchbag]

​@@slipknottin Makes me think if Zealand would be this accepting of his players in FM dropping terrible training ratings if they wanted more minutes - something tells me he wouldn't!

[@gezblair]

In this video Zealand does look like a man who has watched 40+ World Cup Games at stupid o clock in the morning

[@damianspence]

Unrelated but I hope we get a worldcup super cut of watch-along reactions!

[@LennartWaldemar]

It makes me sad to see Zealand this sad...

[@MaxiTaxi_11]

I have been a Dortmund fan for 25 years now, and i know a talent when i see one. He just need to pull his finger out and show some professionalism around the squad. Unexpectable behavior and he needs to work on it if he wants to be a future star.

[@paulo_f1]

Berhalter used to play with Claudio Reyna in the US National Team right?

[@djaeb2001]

Berhalter was a decent MLS coach, but never in a billion years should have got the USMNT job. He’s purely defensive and you can’t win that way on the biggest stage in the world.

[@bretsmith9086]

Fantastic video and quality was as high as any sports new outlet

[@ramirocastano7444]

I know this isn't a USMNT channel, but I've seen you interviewed on other channels and along with this video, I gotta say that I am a big fan of your USMNT takes. You are spot on imo.

[@neilproctor5163]

Until the US sort out a proper league pyramid system, the pool of players will be forever limited! A better system would go some way to stopping all the best US players heading to Europe! Bin the franchise model and adopt promotions, play-offs and relegations! That's when the US mens team will be a force in international football! I spent a year in Sacramento back in 1997-98. I still have good friends there. All but one of those friends back in 97 were into football - now, years later, they're all into football! So I've seen the rise of football in the US - now is the time to build that competitive league system that definitely has the potential to rival any in Europe ... providing you abolish the current league model!

[@alanansara2190]

Berhalter lost me when he went too defensive too early against Wales and cost the US two points and then repeated it against Iran when an Iranian goal knocks the US out of the tournament and they barely held on. By that point it was clear there was going to be close to 10 minutes of added time so you were asking the team to park the bus for 20 minutes. Wales and Iran both struggled when the US was playing on the front foot against them and the actively made decisions to help them get back in the game

[@Anthony-vk7kp]

Surprised Americans just learned about how this can be so bad when it’s literally what gave them this “golden age”. The Mexican federation have been like this for so long. Doing nothing but picking favorites to stay at the national team (Tata was supposed to leave 2 years prior to the WC, but Luisa and Torrado convinced him to stay). Players like HH, Moreno, and Gallardo are all friends with Luisa. Heck, even our president and his staff wouldn’t be here if they weren’t such good friends with the board of the federation!! This has been happening for so long, so I’m just shocked it’s taken this long for you guys to pick up on it…

[@phillipward7296]

Yeah, our federation evolved into this closed-system, nepotistic garbage. If they re-hire GB for *any* amount of time, I'm out for life. I've had a little bit of insider knowledge of USSF, SUM and MLS for years and at this point I'm totally fine with spitefully walking away.

[@Anthony-vk7kp]

@@phillipward7296 we’ve gotten used to it. Ever since Luisa came into power, it’s been his friends getting rewards and all of us fans getting the bad end of the deal. Players get rewarded with sponsorship deals and the federation takes a cut of it to let them stay on the roster. Add in SUM basically making sure Luisa stays in till 2026 thanks the renewing of that awful partnership, and you’ll see just how awful nepotism and greed can truly be for a team.

[@anthonybernardi4929]

Z, thank you for putting so eloquently and so well what I've been feeling as a USMNT supporter ever since this controversy started. Perfectly put, and it's Gregg out without question.

[@emiliohernvndez]

As a 🇲🇽 fan, I think Tata Martino and Gregg are so similar its crazy. As far as coaching styles at least. Its crazy that Gregg didn’t get sacked.

[@race2681]

Not a fan of Greg at all. But people just seem to not care about the fact that Gio Reyna missed 4 months through injury right before the WC. He probably wasn’t fully match fit and he plays in the most competitive position in the team. He was never promised a spot and had a terrible attitude when he learned he wouldn’t start in a game. Not a good look for Gio

[@phillipward7296]

You don't really get competitive sports, let alone the difference in pedigree between someone like Reyna versus others.. You don't tell someone before camp. You let them show you in camp. Best player plays.

[@Anderslaw]

@@phillipward7296 Right, but tactics also play a part. Pulisic and Weah were preferred. A big part of competitive sports is effort and hard work, there are countless stories of talented prospects like Reyna not putting in the effort and ruining their careers, there are also examples of less talented, but hard-working players making all the difference to their sides.

[@phillipward7296]

@@Anderslaw I don't have a criticism for Weah or Pulisic starting over Reyna in any match. I would have made the same choice.

[@frostyamerican5724]

It's pretty clear that the situation was about to be revealed publicly. So it doesn't matter that Gregg said it off the record. Also it's clear Gregg was trying to protect Gio by lying about Gio being injured. Also Gio wants to talk about "Keeping things internal" even though he 1000000% leaked stuff.

[@Elena-gj6ow]

Yeah, the Athletic article was on it's way regardless of Gregg speaking about it. His version is even nicer, tbh...

[@toby3695]

Swedish second division... Is Greggy B secretly Doctor Benjy??

[@argigamespronl7999]

wow zealand sounds really depressed in this video

[@corneliuspraeda6452]

Between this whole Reyna fiasco, and everybody in and around the USMNT falling over themselves to convince us that this tournament was some "groundbreaking success" is almost more than I can stand! We drew a Wales team that turned out to be trash, drew an England team who EVERYBODY in England says didn't play very good, beat a 'meh' Iran team, then got our doors blown off. Sure, I know US soccer history ain't "storied", but if we've decided already that we're going into "Just happy to be there." mode while we're HOSTING the next WC, then that'll be a real shame.

[@slipknottin]

Meh. The US is on the low end of the talent level at the World Cup. They don’t have a single player who is a star player for any elite team. About the best they have is Tyler Adams who is a good defensive mid on a team fighting to avoid relegation. There is hope for the future because a lot of their players are so young, but look at their continental rivals. Canada lost 3 games. Mexico who is supposed to be the powerhouse only managed a win over Saudi Arabia, drew to Poland and lost to Argentina. If your expectations are the US should be top competitor, I think you were destined to be let down.

[@phillipward7296]

It's not just that we lost to Netherlands. We looked like dogcrap on all 3 goals against.

[@kradria]

Damn Zealand was really invested into this.

[@waynekeebler6755]

Zealand, Pulisic and Reyna are more renown in Europe for their multiple injuries than their skill. Both have a great deal of “potential”, neither of which has developed properly. Berhalter handled the situation poorly and there are consequences for his actions. Gio Reyna being the best attacking option for the U.S. National team says more about the state of U.S. soccer, none of it good. I suggest you attend any youth competition this spring and watch the influence of parents on the coaching. We will never rise to a World Cup level given the current state of affairs from youth to the USMNT level.

[@adzter96]

If they had interviewed Pareja he'd have done a much better job. He's worked wonders in Orlando.

[@nicholasgolden1850]

I have to say I'm on Gregg's side here. He's clearly not the class of manager to win the world cup -- but he's met expectations and overcome really huge challenges since Couva

[@jesterbeats2898]

Nah Greg is playing under expectations he is gotten lucky too many times I don't want hear this man has gotten within our expectations he is clearly not good enough coach if he can't use the attacking talents more effectively than their clubs and how he handled this situation he's man management is quite poor for a head coach for a second tier country in the world of soccer

[@phillipward7296]

"met expectations and overcome really huge challenges since Couva" no, and no

[@vinceo1058]

You really think we're barely the 3rd best team in CONCACAF?

[@mariohenriquez4339]

That's Santiago Solari at 2:20, NOT Julen Lopetegui.

[@lungabiyela9081]

Hey, it's very cool that the head of your federation quits after the national team fails to qualify for a World Cup. After we failed to qualify for 2014, 2018 and 2022, the president of our federation was voted in for another term. So, yeah, there's that. For us to reach a World Cup again, FIFA would have to expand the tournament and allow spots for 15 African teams.

[@nameanteater4772]

Any person born in the great city of Sunderland, should play as much as possible (in my DEFINITELY NOT biased opinion). Once a Mackem always a mackem

[@xbaroyash1597]

wow, nepotism in football, how surprising as if it is weren't everywhere, whatever country or institution no matter how "correct and civilized" some of them may be and let's not talk about qatar and them buying the entire sport of football...

[@goldbirdie]

Love this video Zealand, keep up the work, proud of you.

[@kennynguyen6246]

Well glad to see our dream of lifting that World Cup going into the 2030s. Just need a striker *cough* Coaching and a rising gk 😅

[@Elena-gj6ow]

The coach may be shitty, and we can criticise him all we want, but to say it fully excuses Reyna's actions is doing Reyna a disservice. Football players all over the world play for coaches that don't like them, for whatever reason. The moment they stop trying it only hurts themselves and the entire rest of the team, while giving their coach another reason not to like them. Now clubs and coaches all over the world know what Reyna does when he experiences something as unfair (wether it actually is or not is irrelevant). That's not a good characteristic to have. You want players who'd say "fuck you, I'll show you why you're wrong for not picking me by giving 110% every session and smashing it." If all it took for him to give up the world cup was to be told he'd have a smaller role? That's just weak mentality. Then take on that smaller role, do it perfectly and force your way in. Complain about unfairness afterwards, when you've done all you can. Think this is also impacted by the US being so bad for so long, that anyone who plays in an even remotely good team ends up like a primadonna, way too early. Reyna is good, don't get me wrong. But if he wasn't american, it's not likely he'd behave like this at that age. Even if he deserved to play over others or whatever. The (percieved) gap between Reyna/Pulisic and other US players is just too big, and he's been fed the idea that he's a superstar way too soon. He's not a star. He's a very talented kid, and should be treated as such. He had expectations that weren't healthy for him as a competitor, regardless of if those expectations were reasonable. If the US had just one 30-ish year old player playing in a decent European team, it'd be different. Then there wouldn't suddenly be an arrival of good players after years of drought. But since it's only the youngest ones playing for good teams, and no other american has for years and years, peaople prop them up way too much.

[@iloufilm]

Berthalter 🤝 Domenech Being the worst national team coach

[@shara30000]

the biggest sin this world cup is that roberto firmino didnt get to play for brazil.

[@SongofIceandTea]

2:21 wait the minute, that's not Lopetegui, that was ex madrid coach after Zidane, which i didn't know his name because he was so bad. LOL

[@ZizouTheKing22]

Lol thank you for making this video… I was literally ranting during every USA game as to why Reyna wasn’t on the field? 🤦🏻‍♂️ Greg’s Gotta Go! #GGG!

[@bbqR0ADK1LL]

Well, this was a different tone from the usual content...

[@jaquandrejones]

He's still NEVER accomplished anything of importance. No, the gold cup doesn't matter.

[@bipolarminddroppings]

I needed to hear no more than Zealand from Renya's statement to know whatever happened, his behaviour was perfectly predictable. If I was basically the Messi of my national team and was told I wouldn't be playing much, I would have reacted much worse, I probably would have told him "fine, go fuck yourself. I'm going home and I will be telling any reporter who asks why..." and immediately headed for the hotel.

[@danwatt5789]

Brave video Zealand, well done having the guts and integrity to post it!

[@fritsjonker9000]

This is a shamefully slanted recounting of events. It's embarrassing coming from someone with a journalism degree.

[@winsingtoniii681]

Agreed, this video is kind of embarrassing and I expected better from Zealand. I don't even like Berhalter, I want him to go. And I don't agree at all with him telling Reyna he would have a limited role. But this video is very biased in its recounting of the story, and the unwillingness to acknowledge any agency or blame on the part of Reyna is honestly sad. Reyna is a young adult and a professional. He can and should do better, the fact that Zealand says him not trying in training is justified because he was told he would have a limited role is crazy. Brenden Aaronson wasn't a starter either despite being young and talented, and we heard nothing about him not trying in practice because he is a professional and got on with it. Though it's fair to be frustrated, Reyna should have done the same, his behavior isn't excusable simply because he was unhappy about what he was told. But honestly the more egregious piece of this is Zealand's take that Aaron Long can't give advice to Reyna simply because he isn't as talented of a player, and how that would have sent Zealand (and maybe Reyna), over the edge. Talk about an immature and awful attitude to boil down a person's worth in terms of advice to their talent for a sport. It's not like Long was giving Reyna advice on his first touch, he was talking to him about professionalism and hard work. Why can't Long provide advice on that? He's 10 years older than Reyna, has significantly more life experience, and comes from a very different background and perspective. Reyna comes from a privileged background, he was raised by two former pro players. His father made very good money playing in Europe. Long on the other hand had to work construction in the MLS off-season at 23 years old because he couldn't afford to live off his MLS salary. That's honestly probably a useful perspective for someone like Reyna to hear, and I have faith that Reyna can appreciate advice like that. I don't think he needs to be coddled and told he's special and how nothing he does is his fault the way Zealand seems to view him. In my view, it's disrespectful to Reyna to view him as such a coddled child that he can't take responsibility for his own actions just because he's talented. I don't know, it's just a disappointing situation all around, handled poorly by Berhalter, poorly by Reyna, and now poorly by Zealand turning it into low-effort clickbait. But I for one think Reyna will have learned from this and doesn't need to be coddled and have his behavior excused.

[@MyNameIsOcean]

loh-peh-teh-geee WHAT THE FUCK IS LOPTIGOOEY

[@ubergreeny6398]

Players are always so great when they don't play....

[@StoutProper]

Great piece of journalism, great perspective

[@jman1276]

#GreggOut

[@dxfifa]

Gio Reyna is just an arrogant little daddy's boy. People with his attitude never get as far as they should

[@gezblair]

I would say give Zealand the job but don’t think you can do loans in international football

[@Tom-lr1if]

I've got to say, don't agree with you on this one Zealand. Gio Reyna not playing more is a travesty, for sure. And yes, Berhalter is a terrible coach. But soccer is a team sport. Being told you will not feature as a star player at the World Cup is 100% devastating, but it is the coach's choice to make. A player doesnt have to like it, but they should accept it. Moping around during training, bringing down the whole mood of the team camp, and affecting the team so much that his own teammates have to approach him and tell him to shape up is not acceptable. I disagree with you that any one player is so important that they are allowed to ruin the team camp if told they won't be playing. Take Ronaldo at Utd. Should he have been allowed to mope around just because he is more talented than other players around him? Gio has apologized and will probably learn from it, and I hope he features regularly for the states for years to come.

[@northofnashira2575]

Next video... Who is going to take over as head coach?

[@stephenbachmeier913]

This is infuriating to realize and put together. Dude should be fired immediately just for the conflict of interest issue, but add on the poor media handling skills and poor management….

[@AmpuLeah]

i'm from Romania, it is also called the country of nepotism

[@lorenzomartinez8543]

It's human for an emotional person to mope. It's still thoroughly unprofessional. The idea that Aaron Long had no right to talk to Gio aboit professionalism because Gio is a better player is utterly bizarre to me.

[@barrywhite3647]

The Managers decision to not play him was perfectly justified. US wouldn't have gone any further with or without Gio. You are hammering this coach for not overachieving lol

[@Taalsman]

But Zealand, atleast you qualified🇧🇻

[@fiyamage]

It should be off the record, journalists should respect that. It's said that it came out, but I totally get Gregg saying that in confidence.

[@phillipward7296]

You're a dingus.