Confused fan’s guide to Gio Reyna’s international eligibility
Who can the 17-year-old phenom represent? When? And why would he choose the U.S.?
Amid the fervor of Giovanni Reyna becoming the youngest American to appear and record an assist in a UEFA Champions League game last week for Borussia Dortmund, a question started floating around soccer circles: Could the teenage star choose to represent a country other than the U.S.?
The question of Reyna’s eligibility has its roots in his grandparents, his birthplace and passport. The son of two renowned former U.S. internationals, Claudio Reyna on the men’s side and Danielle Egan Reyna on the women’s, it has long been assumed that Gio Reyna will follow in his parents’ footsteps and represent the Americans when he inevitably breaks through to the senior level. While that result remains the betting favorite, there are several other tantalizing possibilities on the table for the rising star.
Portugal
The first — and most immediate — possibility lies with the defending European champions, Portugal. Via ancestry through his grandparents, Reyna was able to acquire a Portuguese passport that enabled him to leave New York City FC’s academy, where his father served as sporting director through 2019, and sign abroad within the European Union after turning 16 — non-EU passport holders need to wait until age 18. The secondary effect of this process was gaining eligibility to represent Portugal on the international stage.
Given Reyna’s meteoric rise, it would be logical to conclude the Portuguese FA has their eyes on the Dortmund midfielder — just as England does per reports from The Athletic. Despite representing the U.S. at the youth level up to the U-17s, Reyna remains un-capped in a senior competitive match, leaving the door open for a switch to the home nation of one of the all-time greats, Cristiano Ronaldo. One must wonder what a call from him would do?
England
While not an immediate possibility due to currently lacking citizenship, England remains in the discussion due to the location of his birth, Sunderland, England, where he spent his first five years. This situation is a bit more complex due to British Nationality Law. There are five methods by which British citizenship can be obtained:
- By birth in the UK or a qualified British overseas territory to a parent who is a British citizen at the time of the birth, or a parent who is settled in the UK or an overseas terrtiory – Reyna does not fit this criteria
- By birth abroad (“by descent”) if one parent is a British citizen by a method other than by descent. Only transferable by one generation downward (i.e. parents, not grandparents) – Reyna does not fit this criteria
- By naturalization gained by fitting certain criteria including legal residence in the UK for three years with a British spouse or five years without – this would be Reyna’s most likely path to British citizenship
- By registration – Reyna does not fit this criteria
- By adoption – Reyna does not fit this criteria
As noted by The Athletic, Reyna is currently being tracked by the English FA as one of roughly 1,000 credible long-term options. Reports also state he is on a short-list of roughly 25 players the FA is particularly paying attention to with a more advanced screening process. If the FA decides to target Reyna, they will then take steps to get international clearance with FIFA.
Argentina
Another potential landing place for Reyna based on his grandparents ancestry is Argentina. Reyna is not currently a citizen of Argentina based on Argentine Nationality Law, but could choose to pursue citizenship.
Similarly to Britain, Argentina requires a person to be born either within Argentina to acquire citizenship at birth or to be born to a native Argentine citizen abroad (“by descent”). The distinguishing point from England, however, are the very simple requirements for citizenship by naturalization for Argentina. The only requirements that must be met are:
- Be 18 years old or older
- Have established residency in Argentina for two years
- Apply for citizenship with a federal judge
The ease of the Argentine system — and a similar potential recruiting role from Ronaldo’s foil, Lionel Messi — alongside the heritage shared with his grandparents could make Argentina a viable option at a relatively young age for Reyna if he so chose.
Summary
The most likely endpoint of all of this battling remains representation of the U.S. Reyna has held his Portuguese passport for over a year now and has not yet been approached by the Portuguese FA, though continued strong performances may change that. While he did spend some of his youth in England — Reyna was born in 2002 and father Claudio did not leave England to return to the U.S. until 2007 — Reyna obviously spent most of his developmental life in the United States. He’s also been representing the U.S. since 2016 with the U.S. U-15 youth national team and has consistently remained with that group through the U-17 squad.
In order to render Reyna cap-tied per FIFA Statutes, the U.S. would have to call him up to the senior level in an official competition and he’d have to make an appearance. Friendlies do not count. A recent example of this was Jermaine Jones, who had previously represented Germany in several friendlies in 2008 before choosing to represent the U.S. competitively.
A player would also be considered cap-tied if he appeared in an official competition for a national team at any level, youth included, provided the player was not eligible for another national team at the time of his appearance. Reyna’s eligibility for Portugal prevents this and so he remains not cap-tied despite his U.S. appearances.
Given his prominent rise, it would not be a shock if the USSF makes plans to call Reyna up for a senior, cap-tying appearance in the near future. The U.S. has two scheduled friendlies for the March window against the Netherlands and Wales. But neither would satisfy FIFA’s requirements, meaning the first possible opportunity the U.S. will have to cap-tie Reyna comes in June at the CONCACAF-sanctioned Nations League Semifinal against Honduras.
The question is: Will Reyna accept the call-up? Or will he keep his options open for the future? The U.S. recently went through a similar process with Sergino Dest, the Netherlands-eligible fullback who declined a U.S. senior call-up back in October as he made his decision before ultimately choosing to represent the U.S. Men’s National Team, and becoming cap-tied in a Nations League group stage match against Canada in November.
Follow Colton on Twitter: @cjcoreschi.
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