Gio Reyna scored the second international goal of his career to open the scoring for the U.S. men’s national team against Northern Ireland on Sunday.
In the 30th minute of their friendly in Belfast, the 18-year-old took a pass from Tim Ream with plenty of space to maneuver and worked past his defender before releasing a shot from 22 yards. The effort took a massive deflection off Northern Ireland defender Ciaran Brown that goalkeeper Conor Hazard could only watch as the U.S. took the 1-0 lead.
The goal is Reyna’s second in a U.S. shirt, following up his impressive free kick in November against Panama. The Borussia Dortmund phenom was unlucky to not score in a 4-1 win over Jamaica on Thursday despite a flurry of chances.
With defenders John Brooks and Reggie Cannon having left the U.S. camp to avoid a COVID-19 quarantine upon reentry to their respective countries, USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter opted to go with a back-three, allowing fullbacks Sergino Dest and Antonee Robinson to attack more freely. Ream, as the left-most part of the back three, fed Reyna, who started opposite Christian Pulisic as a winger in the U.S. attack.
