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When he could have been defending on the Turkiye goal that erased an early advantage for the United States men’s national team in their final group game of the 2026 World Cup, Mark McKenzie was being left behind by young star Arda Guler as if he’d forgotten which direction to run.
When McKenzie could have been defending on the goal that put the USMNT behind for the first time in this tournament, he failed to step forward to cope a waiting Orkun Kokcu as a cross was shipped in by Eren Elmali.
And when McKenzie could have been defending on the goal that secured a 3-2 victory for Turkiye at LA Stadium late Thursday, he was literally standing and waving at the assistant referee, begging for an offside call.
They have video and computer technology for that now. The player ceasing to play and waving his hand in the air never made much difference in this sport, but now it’s entirely superfluous.
That’s pretty much all McKenzie had to offer, though.
Here’s what we learned from Thursday’s game: If McKenzie winds up on the field at any point during the knockout rounds, which commence for the USMNT on Wednesday in Santa Clara against Bosnia and Herzegovina, something will have gone terribly wrong.
MORE: USMNT stunned in 98th minute vs. Turkiye
This came carried no meaning for either the winner or loser. The U.S. already had clinched first place in Group D, and Turkiye had clinched last. This was enough to convince head coach Mauricio Pochettino to put only one of his top 11 players onto the field at the start.
The importance of momentum is overstated in situations such as this. In 2002, when the USMNT reached their only World Cup quarterfinal of the modern era, they had been embarrassed in their final group game, against Poland, and only reached the Round of 16 because South Korea defeated Portugal. In 2010, the last time they won a group, they did so on Landon Donovan's famous stoppage-time goal and then fell in extra time on a goal sloppily surrendered to Ghana.
"I don't understand momentum," Pochettino said. "Germany lose the momentum, too. Too many topics in football, in soccer, that I don't understand. The objective was to finish first. And we are first. And now, it's the next stage ... and we are ready. We are much more ready than before that game, because we have players with 90 minutes in their legs and performing and are ready to help if we need it from the beginning or after, from the bench. It's all positive.
"I am happy. Maybe I'm not sure because I'm not sure because your question is a little bit weird.
"I was talking with the Turkish, and I said to have a good trip back to Turkiye. Now, when I arrive here, I am confused. Maybe the mood is like, the vibe is like, we go home tonight and Turkiye stays."
This was an opportunity to win the three World Cup group games for the first time. Along the way, it morphed into an opportunity to not lose in group play for the first time. With the game having so little consequence, though, getting the team’s reserves an opportunity made complete sense.
"Making history is winning the World Cup, not winning three matches at the World Cup," Pochettino said.
From their first game of the 2026 World Cup to the second, the USMNT made one change to their lineup, and that was entirely by necessity. Star Christian Pulisic sat through the team’s 2-0 victory over Australia last Friday in Seattle because of an issue with his calf. Every other player who opened in the 4-1 thrashing of Paraguay the week before was on the field against the Aussies. And it became clear against Turkiye why Pochettino had been so committed to his starters.
We can say we knew there were issues with defensive depth after watching McKenzie and Miles Robinson struggle in the pre-World Cup exhibitions, when the U.S. yielded four total goals with Chris Richards missing from the middle of the back line. We also can say his absence from this one should not have been so extremely punitive.
Richards never was going to appear against Turkiye. He had been assigned a yellow card for a foul in the game against Australia, and a second such offense in this one would have meant a one-game suspension – that one game in the Round of 32 against Bosnia. Pochettino wisely held him out along with midfielder Tyler Adams, striker Folarin Balogun and left back Antonee Robinson.
That put McKenzie into the center of the U.S. defense. And so we were reminded why the Americans still are dependent on 38-year-old Tim Ream to partner with Richards and young Alex Freeman.
On the goal by Guler that tied the game in the 10th minute, McKenzie actually was beaten twice. The first came when he failed to intercept a pass toward Guler that was within his reach. Then he failed to pick up the young Real Madrid star as he launched a run toward the box. When Guler arrived with McKenzie harmlessly behind, the pass from Baris Alper Yilmas created a stellar goal.
It was right back Joe Scally burned down the sideline on the second Turkiye goal, and if that never happens then perhaps McKenzie escapes any fault at all for the goal that put the opposition ahead for the first time. He was the player best positioned to cover Kokcu and attempt to negate the opportunity. He didn’t move.
It was his actions on the final goal that were almost impossible to comprehend. It was Pulisic who’d been burned on a “nutmeg” move in the far right corner in the game’s final minute. That put everyone in a difficult position. But when the ball got to the opposite side and Can Uzun, goalkeeper Matt Turner had little choice to attack him along with Freeman. Somebody had to pick up Kaan Ayhan in the box. No one did. It’s impossible to do if you’re trying to officiate the game rather than play it. Ayhan had no interference as he drove the ball into the back of the goal.
That ruined the joy of what had been a pleasant night, opened with a goal by defender Auston Trusty in the game’s 3rd minute and then tied in the second half on a searing strike by midfielder Sebastian Berhalter. There were long stretches when even this second-string squad controlled the action against Turkiye's best. It had been promising to see Pulisic return for an appearance of around a half-hour. Had the U.S. been able to leave the night with a draw, it would have been an ideal occasion.
After two weeks of seeing what is possible for the USMNT, we were reminded in this game what is impossible. If the Americans are forced to reach too far into their corps of reserves, especially on defense, one of their guests will rudely spoil the party they’re hosting.
English (US)