Arena DEFENDS Berhalter leaving Reyna out and ‘wouldn’t argue against’ playing Weah ahead of him

Former USMNT coach Bruce Arena has defended Gregg Berhalter’s decision to largely leave Gio Reyna out of the first two World Cup games after the Borussia Dortmund winger settled for a cameo appearance vs. England.

Reyna entered Friday’s 0-0 draw off the bench in the 83rd minute, and the substitute appearance was his first action of the tournament after he was unused vs. Wales.

Meanwhile, Lille’s Tim Weah has been given the starting nod in both games on the right wing and currently has the team’s only goal of the tournament to his name.

Bruce Arena coached the USMNT in two World Cups– the 2002 and 2006 tournaments

Borussia Dortmund teenager Gio Reyna has seen limited action at the World Cup thus far

Arena, who coached the USMNT in two World Cups, gave the benefit of the doubt to Berhalter after the Group B clash. 

‘What I’d say is we’re all experts on everyone else’s teams,’ he wrote for MLSsoccer.com.

‘We’re not inside the team, so it’s hard to make a judgment – only the coach and the player can tell you that. 

‘And the way the US play right now, it seems like it’s either Reyna or Weah, and they have Weah ahead of him. I wouldn’t necessarily argue against that.’

Reyna’s minimal role thus far has been a huge point of contention among USA fans, and questions arose after the 1-1 draw with Wales whether the 20-year-old was fit.

Gregg Berhalter has opted to leave Gio Reyna on the bench thus far in the World Cup

Berhalter said after that game that the team did a ‘last-minute check’ on Reyna, who has battled extensive injury issues, before calling the decision to bench him a ‘coach’s decision’ earlier this week.

Reyna, however, said he felt ‘really good’ after that result.

Regardless, he enters Tuesday’s must-win match vs. Iran with little action under his belt in Qatar after registering two goals and two assists in six starts across all competitions for Dortmund to start his club campaign.

The USA’s performance vs. England was impressive but didn’t change much in terms of the mission on Tuesday, as they’ll need to beat Iran as expected to move onto the knockout phase.

Behind first-place England with four points, Iran are second with three points after a surprise 2-0 win vs. Wales on Friday.

The USA sit third with two points after drawing both of their opening matches.