Gio Reyna signaled his re-emergence for the U.S. men’s national team with a brace to lead the Americans to a 4-0 win against Ghana in an international friendly in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday.
He scored in the 10th and 39th minutes as part of a 4-0 first half for the Americans that included goals by Christian Pulisic (19th-minute penalty) and Folarin Balogun (22nd minute).
It was a momentous outing for Reyna, the Borussia Dortmund (Germany) forward who was at the center of a very public spat between him, his parents and U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter after the World Cup in November.
The match against Germany on Saturday was Reyna’s first for the national team since the spat and followed a recent meeting between him and Berhalter to clear the air.
The U.S. lost 3-1 to the Germans and was looking for a response. It came, starting with Reyna’s fifth goal, first since June 2021, to make it 1-0.
Sergino Dest got the play going with a cross attempt to Balogun in the middle of the box. The ball deflected off a Ghana defender to the foot of Reyna.
Pulisic, the scorer against Germany, converted a penalty after Tim Weah drew a foul by Gideon Mensah to double the lead. Pulisic has 28 goals in 64 appearances.
Balogun scored his third goal in just six international matches thanks to a setup from Weah on a break. The pass to the middle of the box was a little behind Balogun but he reached back, controlled the ball, then spun to his left to make it 3-0.
Reyna’s second score was unusual in that it was an indirect free kick from 10 yards. Balogun tapped the ball to the right to Pulisic, who reversed it to Reyna. He ripped a shot to the upper right corner.
Matt Turner preserved the four-goal lead with a marvelous right-handed punch of a deflected shot by Mohammed Kudus in the 41st minute for his only save.
All three goal-scorers were substituted at halftime.
Lennard Maloney, a midfielder for Heidenheim in Germany, made his U.S. debut in the 65th minute.
–Field Level Media
