Giovanni Reyna to Skip this Summer’s Gold Cup to Prepare for the Upcoming Season

Several media outlets are reporting that Giovanni Reyna is set to miss the Gold Cup which will take place this summer in the United States. Here is one report from the reliable Ruhr Nachrichten:

The Gold Cup tournament kicks off on July 10th with semifinals to be played July 29th, followed by the final on August 1st. This year the tournament schedule is later than usual, and would interfere with Borussia Dortmund’s pre-season training camps for the next campaign. While several outlets are reporting different reasons for why Reyna will miss the tournament, it appears that the USMNT and Borussia Dortmund have agreed on what is best for the player.

Reyna is currently with the USMNT, who have just played a friendly with Switzerland on May 30th, where they fell 2-1 after taking an early lead. The U.S. with Reyna are set to finish competing in the CONCACAF Nations League where they have a June 3rd semifinal date with Honduras. Should the United States defeat Honduras, they would face either Costa Rica or rivals Mexico in the final on June 6th. A third place game is also scheduled earlier in the day, so Reyna will have two more matches before he can take a break for the summer.

I think it is a smart move by all parties to allow Reyna to skip the Gold Cup this summer. One must remember that he only 18 years old and just finished his first full season with the first team at Borussia Dortmund. Reyna made a strong start to the season, but just like Dortmund as a team, struggled mightily during the middle of the season. Nonetheless, Reyna chalked up 46 appearances for Die Schwarzgelben, scoring 7 goals, assisting 6 others, while logging just under 2700 minutes before hoisting his first major trophy, the DFB-Pokal. Surely, that is a lot to handle for a young player, even one as gifted as he, and I am glad he will be getting a break after this week.