The USA squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ will have a familiar feel, with both Sebastian Berhalter and Gio Reyna selected by coach Mauricio Pochettino for the global showpiece. Close childhood friends, the duo are poised to emulate their respective fathers, Gregg and Claudio, who previously competed for the Stars and Stripes on the biggest stage of them all.
Reyna, a gifted playmaker, will be taking part in his second successive World Cup despite a lack of playing time in recent months for Bundesliga club Borussia Monchengladbach. Meanwhile, Berhalter has completed a storybook rise over the past 12 months after seizing his opportunity at the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup and further impressing for Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps.
The World Cup has long been a family affair, with a number of fathers and sons playing at football’s highest stage. This exclusive list includes luminaries such as Cesare and Paolo Maldini, Jean and Youri Djorkaeff, Pablo and Diego Forlan, as well as Danny and Daley Blind, among others.
But uniquely, the Reynas will become the first father-son duo to be selected for a World Cup on home soil. Claudio was named in the USA squad for the 1994 showpiece aged just 20 but did not play due to a hamstring injury sustained in practice. He subsequently appeared in the three further tournaments, captaining the team at Germany 2006.
Berhalter, meanwhile, is thrilled to be emulating his dad, who played for the Stars and Stripes at Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006, as well as coached the team at Qatar 2022.
“I’ve seen him participating in three World Cups, playing in two and coaching one, so it means everything to follow in his footsteps and hopefully get that chance to represent my country,” he recently told FIFA. “In a way, I’ve been dreaming [about this] since I was a kid, seeing how much my family revolves around him to always put him first to make him feel as good as he can and be ready to go for his competitions… Now I want to feel that and I want my family to be behind me and support me, as they always do, and it would be a really nice feeling.”
Berhalter told FOX Sports after the announcement: “It shows if you believe in your dreams and put in the work, you never know what is going to happen so I’m super-fortunate to be here.”
For Reyna, the FIFA World Cup 2026 represents an opportunity to not only showcase his skills but bounce back from Qatar 2022 when he barely featured under Gregg Berhalter.
“This is what you dream of as a kid and, for me, I don’t know when it was… seven or eight years ago when I heard that there was going to be a World Cup in the States,” Reyna previously told FIFA. “That was my goal – I think I was even a youth player still – to be on that field and representing my country in front of the whole world on home soil. I already know it’s going to be special. I can only dream of it right now, but obviously still a little bit of time until then, so I just have to keep going and I’m sure it will all work itself out.”
“I’m happy to be here and happy to be with the group. There is a lot of excitement and joy in the group now so there’s a lot to look forward to,” Reyna told CBS Sports after the announcement. “I’m truly grateful that I’m here, like everyone else.”
Pochettino’s men are quietly confident of success against Australia, Paraguay and Türkiye in Group D. But in a squad that lacks strength in depth in midfield, Berhalter and Reyna will need to be at their very best if the Stars and Stripes are going to make a deep run on home soil.
