USMNT Midfield Duo Puts Heated Past Behind Them, Looks Toward World Cup History

The families of Giovanni Reyna and Sebastian Berhalter were embroiled in an intense public controversy in the aftermath of the last World Cup.

The Berhalter and Reyna families have deep ties to U.S. Soccer. | Jared C. Tilton/FIFA/Getty Images

The U.S. men’s national team enters Thursday’s World Cup group stage finale against Türkiye with utter peace of mind. Two prior wins against Paraguay and Australia ensure that no matter the final result, the Americans have already topped Group D and will secure a rather favorable opponent in the round of 32.

“Peace of mind” and “World Cup” aren’t phrases that typically belong in the same sentence, at least not with regards to the USMNT. There are perhaps several factors that have contributed to the U.S.’s historic success thus far on soccer’s most prestigious stage. A world-class manager, the Argentinian Mauricio Pochettino, for starters, as well as the electricity of a home crowd and a favorable group stage schedule. Maybe even a bit of luck, too.

Yet no factor has proved more significant than the team’s newfound identity, one of fierce brotherhood and togetherness. It bleeds onto the pitch, evident in the rhythmic patterns the Americans play with and their collective hunger shrouded in disciplined patience.

It’s an identity Pochettino himself has fostered for the group, uniting his men under a blend of South American-like passion for the sport and a uniquely North American sense of relentless (perhaps even slightly naive) belief in themselves.

It wasn’t just the fusion of continental ideologies that Pochettino used to cultivate a sense of togetherness. It was also the physical act of bringing players together, particularly two who had been deeply imbued in a public family rift just over two years prior.

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Berhalter, Reyna Come Together After Heated Family Affair

Gregg Berhalter (left) and Gio Reyna never saw eye to eye. | Bill Barrett/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF

The manager called up both Giovanni Reyna, 23, and Sebastian Berhalter, 25 to his November 2025 international camp, signifying the first time the duo had ever been selected together. The players, sons of two prominent American soccer families, had been quite close until a heated, Shakespearean affair broke out between the families in the aftermath of the 2022 World Cup.

Sebastian is the son of Gregg Berhalter, who was a USMNT player himself in the 1990s before serving as the squad’s manager across two separate stints between 2018 and 2024. Although the elder Berhalter did not roster his son for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he did call up Gio, the son of his long-time friend and USMNT teammate Claudio Reyna, an American legend who captained the squad and played in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups.

A nasty feud soon developed between the families, though, initially deriving from Gio’s lack of playing time at the 2022 tournament—a product of his reported bad attitude towards Gregg—and culminating in a six-month long investigation into Gregg himself for an incident of domestic violence that occurred in 1991.

Sebastian and Gio are now united in Pochettino’s midfield this summer, fighting alongside one another for a historic tournament run on home soil and serving as an example of the togetherness Pochettino has successfully created.

“For me, it is not important,” Pochettino had said back in November, when calling up both players. “We believe that Sebastian and Gio are important for us. These two guys are really intelligent and very clever. I think if something happens, for sure they are mature enough to deal with that.”

Both featured on the pitch in the U.S.’s dominant 4–1 over Paraguay in the World Cup opener. Sebastian was just the second person to rush to celebrate Gio when he scored a blistering trivela goal in the final seconds of stoppage time. The duo is likely to feature side-by-side against Türkiye as well, given Pochettino may choose to rest his typical starters ahead of the knockout stage.

“When we both came into camp the first time, we knew where we were at,” Sebastian said, per the Telegraph after the Paraguay win. “We know that we are teammates and that we were going to do anything we can for our country.

“That is way bigger than anything we have going on. So, for us, it was pretty easy. We’re two players on the same team trying to do the best we can for our country, and there’s nothing more than that. We are here to make this team better and to win games ... he’s my teammate and we’re going to war together.”

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