Men’s soccer has officially arrived in the U.S.—the nation’s lengthy, public World Cup postmortem is the surest sign.
Veteran center back Tim Ream became the latest to chime in on the Americans’ experience in Qatar, pronouncing controversy over manager Gregg Berhalter’s handling of Gio Reyna a “non-story.” Reyna’s lack of playing time was a constant point of contention during the U.S.’s run, which ended in defeat to the Netherlands in the round of 16.
"We dealt with it in camp, things moved on, we moved past it and that’s where we are," Ream said. "The players, there was no vote. So we can put that to bed."
Ream made the comments on Indirect, his podcast with broadcaster Steve Schlanger. He referenced a report from Jason McIntyre of Fox (which has been disputed by ESPN’s Taylor Twellman) that the team put potentially sending Reyna home to a vote, which supposedly was decided 13–12 in Reyna’s favor.
“We addressed it in camp and [Reyna] did what he had to do, and obviously came on against the Netherlands and played a pretty solid 45 minutes for us and helped to kind of drag us back into the game,” Ream added.
According to an earlier report from The Athletic, Reyna was benched during the World Cup for giving "an alarming lack of effort" in a friendly with Al-Gharafa of the Qatar Stars League.
The 20-year-old Borussia Dortmund attacking midfielder played just two matches in the World Cup, neither of which he started.
In a Monday statement on Instagram, Reyna wrote, "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." He expressed dismay at the story's long shelf life and reiterated his commitment to the national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup in North America.
