As the United States reached the round of 16 in its first World Cup appearance since 2014, one of its stars was absent. Highly touted attacking midfielder Gio Reyna started just one game, against Iran, and came on as a substitute against England and the Netherlands.
According to a Sunday afternoon report from The Athletic, Reyna's limited role was due to "an alarming lack of effort" in training leading up to the tournament.
Reporting from Paul Tenorio and Sam Stejskal described team-wide frustration at Reyna's lack of intensity in a pre-Cup friendly against Al-Gharafa SC of the Qatari league on Nov.