USA defender Mark McKenzie provides a glimpse into the early days of the Mauricio Pochettino era with the World Cup 2026 co-hosts.
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McKenzie has started three of four matches in the Mauricio Pochettino era for USA
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The centre-back spoke about the Argentinian coach’s early impact on the squad
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The 2026 co-hosts defeated Jamaica to advance to next year’s Concacaf Nations League finals
The Mauricio Pochettino era is well under way for USA, as the FIFA World Cup 26™ co-hosts punched their ticket to the 2024-25 Concacaf Nations League Finals with a 5-2 aggregate quarter-final victory over Jamaica this week.
Their opening match for World Cup 26 is a little more than 18 months away, but the mentality that the former Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea coach is seeking from his new players is already being instilled.
One of the players who has figured prominently for the Argentinian coach early on has been centre-back Mark McKenzie, who started both matches against the Reggae Boyz, plus in the 2-0 friendly win over Panama in October. The 25-year-old Toulouse defender missed making the team for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ by a whisker, but he stands to be in the mix for 2026 on home soil.
He spoke to FIFA about Pochettino’s early impact and what strides USA fans can expect from their team before their 2026 World Cup opener.
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FIFA: Your father is Jamaican, so how special was it for you to play that first leg in Kingston?
Mark McKenzie: First and foremost, when you can put on the jersey and represent the national team, it’s something you don’t take for granted. I worked hard to put myself in a position where I can start these important matches. And then to play against the other half of your nationality is special. I had family come out to the game that I haven’t seen in a few months, two of my aunts and my cousin as well. To top it with a win [1-0] and a clean sheet made it a special trip, for sure.
Does an away win in a tough place like Jamaica speak to the maturation of this USA team?
Playing in Concacaf countries, there’s the grind of it and how grueling it is, how sometimes it’s not even about football at all and just simply about mentality, about the desire to win the game and play for the guys on the pitch next to you. We had moments where we played well and we had moments where we had to suffer a bit, but in the end, we were there for one another and did what we had to do to get the win.
Since there aren’t that many official matches on the calendar for USA before 2026, do you place an extra level of importance of getting a win like that?
Even though we’re qualified [for the World Cup], these are important moments for us as a team to mature and roll up our sleeves and say, “OK, well, if it’s not pretty football, then it’s going to have to be a fight.” It’s going to have to be everybody putting in the extra yards to cover one another to make sure that we’re winning our duels, blocking shots, and that if our team-mate gets knocked down, you’re there to pick him up.
What are you initial impressions of playing under Pochettino?
It’s been really refreshing. I think he brings a new set of eyes and a new perspective to the game. The biggest onus that he places on us as players is just to solve problems on the field. He’s going to give us the foundational principles that we need and the ideas that he wants to put out, but at the end of the day, it’s more so about what solutions can we find within the problems that we may have on the pitch or the challenges that the opponent may throw at us.
What are some of the things that stand out about his coaching on the training pitch?
In each action that we have, it’s about intensity. It’s that extra effort to create an extra couple yards of space, so you’re sprinting instead of jogging to your position to give yourself an extra second, and to give your team-mate an option a bit earlier than otherwise. It’s the intensity to push the back line up to get to a higher position and close the gap.
It’s something that he reiterates, even in the rondos. There’s intensity in the pressing, the movement off the ball, the creating options and angles. I think when everybody is moving at that intense speed and has that understanding of intensity to get to your position, to press, to run through, to finish an attack, to get behind the ball defensively, I think in all facets of the game, that will help us go further.
There’s purpose behind every action…
Exactly, yes, it’s every action. And you’re not just doing something to do something. Each movement has a purpose. Each action has a purpose. Each activity has a purpose. And then the creativity will pop up within the realm of all that.
What is your assessment of 2024 for the USA men’s national team?
It has been a year that has really helped us mature. To come out of the Copa America and not make it out of the group was difficult, but also another important moment for us to learn what is really required when you play against these top teams and what a culture of winning by any means looks like. It’s really important to have the experience to play in a tournament like that and it will be very important going into the 2026 World Cup. We recognize that as a team, we can talk all we want, but at the end of the day, it’s on us to solve problems.
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What can this team become in 2025 under Pochettino?
I think we’ll be a team that has a mentality of winning, not just in terms of result, but during a match… If we get knocked down in a moment, we want to win the next duel and have that mentality of the next play being the most important play. Our quality, our individuality, the creativity that each player brings to the team will find its pockets to showcase. But that transition from being the team that’s growing, to being the team that is mature and understands the different parts of the game and what’s required within those parts of the game, I think that would be an important step for us.
How have you improved as a footballer in these last few years?
Football-wise on the ball stuff there are areas in which I can improve for sure. But I think my level of motivation has kind of skyrocketed over these last couple of years. Missing out on the previous World Cup was a big blow, but it made me even hungrier to go harder to want to make sure that when I get my opportunity with the national team, I take it with both hands and I’m doing everything I can to push the guys here in the national team to raise the standard even more so.
As someone who grew up in the Philadelphia area, what does it mean to you to see the World Cup going to Philly?
It’s a city of diehard fans, right? It’s a city that has supporters who want to be successful. I think to have a World Cup in the U.S. is something incredible, but to have it so close to home and to have it where so many family members and loved ones can come out and support, God willing, it’s a dream come true.
