MIAMI, Florida – It was not long ago that DF Sergino Dest and FW Giovanni Reyna of the United States were starring in Concacaf youth national team tournaments, yet now they are on the big stage of European football with Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund, respectively.
This week, Dest, 19, joined Spanish giants FC Barcelona, becoming the first U.S. player in history to play for the five-time UEFA Champions League winners.
The right back, who was born in the Netherlands to a Dutch mother and Surinamese-American father, featured for the U.S. in four matches at the 2017 Under-17 FIFA World Cup.
His performances got the attention of former U.S. Under-20 Coach Tab Ramos, and quickly Dest was ushered into the U.S. U20 Team. It was at the 2018 Concacaf Under-20 Championship where Dest started to shine on the Concacaf stage.
Dest started the final three matches and helped the U.S. not only punch their ticket to the 2019 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Poland, but also win the 2018 CU20 with a 2-0 victory over rivals Mexico in the Final.
For his efforts, Dest earned a spot in the tournament’s Best XI and went on to play in four matches for the U.S. at the 2019 U20 World Cup.
Reyna, 17, has enjoyed a similar rise. The son of legendary U.S. international Claudio Reyna, Gio made his Bundesliga debut with Borussia Dortmund in January 2020, becoming the youngest U.S. player to play in the Bundesliga, breaking the previous record held by countryman Christian Pulisic.
Prior to that achievement, Reyna was making headlines in the Concacaf region for his performances with the U.S. Under-17 Team. At the 2019 Concacaf Under-17 Championship, Reyna finished as the tournament’s second-leading scorer with six goals in six games, earning a spot in the tournament’s Best XI and helping the U.S. clinch a berth in the 2019 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Brazil, where he played in all three U.S. matches.
Now in his first full season with the Borussia Dortmund first team, Reyna is off to a quick start in 2020-21 with a goal in two Bundesliga matches.
Add to the fact that 22-year-old MF Weston McKennie is playing this season with legendary Italian club Juventus, the stars are aligning for the U.S. to achieve great things in the coming years.
