Gio Reyna during World Cup qualifying. (Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)

So, why didn’t Gregg Berhalter put in Gio Reyna in the waning minutes of the the U.S. men’s national team’s 1-1 draw with Wales in its World Cup opener on Monday?

The USA head coach decided to use Jordan Morris as a second-half substitute instead of the talented 20-year-old forward who plays for Borussia Dortmund.

“In the phase of the game we were at, we went with Jordan who we felt could give us speed and power,” Berhalter told ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle.

Berhalter said that when the USMNT played an exhibition against Qatari club Al-Gharafa, Reyna felt some tightness. The staff chose to be cautious.

“It was trying to get him up to speed. There was some tightness we were guarding against,” the coach was quoted by ESPN.

Reyna, however, said that wasn’t necessarily the case.

Yahoo’s Henry Bushnell that Reyna told him in the mixed that he “definitely felt 100 percent going into today.”

“A little bit of tightness over the last few days,” he added, but he said he was ready to go. I was definitely excited to play.

“It’s not my decision.”

Will Reyna be ready to play against England in the second Group B game on Friday?

Stay tuned.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.