Gio Reyna's fantastic World Cup goal punctuated with pregnancy reveal

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INGLEWOOD, CA — Gio Reyna scored with the last kick of the game on Friday night, putting his hands over his ears as he wheeled away in celebration at SoFi Stadium.

The U.S. men's national team midfielder opened his World Cup account in an emphatic 4-1 win over Paraguay, giving the team an ideal start to the tournament on home soil.

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That celebration, Reyna said later, was an inside joke with his friends that he wanted to keep private. But the next celebration was something else entirely.

After covering his ears, Reyna then put the ball underneath his jersey and put his thumb in his mouth — a universal sign in the world of soccer that your family might be growing.

Reyna told the media after the game that his wife, Chloe, was expecting. He had known for a while, but he was looking for the right time to tell the world.

And what better time to make the announcement than after scoring a goal in a World Cup?

"I've known for a couple months now, so I was waiting for the perfect time," he said. "This sort of felt like it."

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The USMNT throttled Paraguay to kick off the tournament on home soil, turning in one of the best performances in Mauricio Pochettino's tenure on the biggest stage.

One of Pochettino's most scrutinized decisions has been his continual backing of Reyna, who had another underwhelming season at the club level with Borussia Mönchengladbach.

But Reyna has consistently managed to raise his game when he wears the U.S. crest, doing so again on Friday.

Four years after the personal nightmare that was the 2022 World Cup, Reyna started out the 2026 World Cup in the best way imaginable.

Reyna said that banishing the demons of 2022 "wasn't on my mind at all" on Friday, but he went a long way toward doing so nonetheless.

After his debut World Cup saw him nearly sent home, then underwhelm on the field, his second go-round started with an audacious strike off the bench.

The 23-year-old produced an exceptional outside-of-the-boot finish to put the final touch on a statement win.

It was a reminder of the kind of talent Reyna possesses, and how he might yet be a key player for the USMNT at this tournament.

He might have seen his stock dip over the past few years, but he hasn't lost his talent — or his self-belief. Both of those were on display in his cameo off the bench against Paraguay.

"I'm always confident, so that was never really a problem for me," he said. "For me it's simple, whatever I can do to help this team, I'm going to do."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gio Reyna reveals wife is pregnant after USA World Cup goal vs Paraguay

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