Coming back to this, my guess it's a combo of: - Gio is not 100%, and he's a teenager* who's played 800 club minutes in the last 18 months so he's being kept on a strict leash - Gio is not a vertical threat(especially given the injury risk), so he doesn't help the team as much in certain game states - Gregg doesn't rate Gio's defensive work as highly as others, which means he doesn't rank as highly as other options in certain other game states - Gio is not a clean fit at any position in the US formation, he's not a pure winger in the way that Pulisic, Weah, or Morris are(and Aaronson can be), and he's not enough of an engine room guy to be one of the 8s(which Aaronson only gets away with due to his 80 grade work rate) *he turned 20 two weeks ago All good points but I guess I figured one of the most skilled playmakers on the team would find more than 10 minutes of playing time in group stage. Maybe he's a better fit as a sub in knockout stages when Gregg should be less conservative with draws not being a consideration. I'd hope if the US was chasing a goal in the 70th minute of a knockout match he'd find a way to get Gio's skillset in there.