USMNT prospect Giovanni Reyna, 17, snares game-winning assist in first start for Borussia Dortmund (video)
A little more than a month after an injury in warmups prevented Giovanni Reyna from debuting in Borussia Dortmund’s lineup, the 17-year-old American made his first start for the German titan in Saturday’s match against RB Leipzig — and celebrated it with his first Bundesliga assist.
Reyna, the son of former United States World Cup captain Claudio Reyna and U.S. women’s national team winger Danielle Egan, set up Erling Haaland’s 30th-minute goal with a slick no-look pass. It stood up as the game-winner in Dortmund’s 2-0 triumph:
First @Bundesliga_EN start, first assist for Gio Reyna ✨🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/lW7iYkIp39
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 20, 2020
Reyna has been a regular for BVB since breaking into the club’s first team in January. But until Saturday, all 16 of his appearances — including two in Dortmund’s Champions League round of 16 loss to Paris Saint-Germain — had come as a substitute.
Reyna was in manager Lucien Favre’s lineup May 16 vs. rival Schalke, Dortmund‘s first match following the Bundesliga’s two-month coronavirus-caused hiatus. But after pulling up lame before kickoff, he was replaced by Thorgan Hazard, who kept his lineup spot after scoring a goal and adding an assist in a 4-0 win.
The New York City FC academy product was also supposed to receive his first senior international invite from USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter in March, but scheduled European friendlies against Wales and the Netherlands were cancelled because of the global pandemic. Claudio Reyna won 112 caps for the U.S.
The younger Reyna is still looking for his first Bundesliga goal, but his lone strike so far for Dortmund, which came in February against Werder Bremen in the German Cup, was one to remember. Two weeks later, Reyna became the youngest American to play in the Champions League.
USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams entered for Leipzig at halftime Saturday. Reyna was replaced by Leonardo Balerdi in the 81st minute. Haaland sealed BVB’s victory with another goal in second-half stoppage time.
More from Yahoo Sports:
