BEAR, Del. - Delaware's Mark McKenzie briefly thought he had scored a goal, but the Bear native played all 90 minutes in the United States' 3-2 loss to Turkiye Thursday night at the World Cup.
The defender had a busy night on both ends of the pitch, but nearly had his biggest career goal when he slammed home a rebound off of a corner kick in the 29th minute, but was correctly judged to be in an offside position.
After the U.S. had taken a 1-0 lead in the 3rd minute on Auston Trusty's goal, McKenzie could only chase as Turkiye did a give-and-go past him, watching Arda Güler send in the equalizer for Turkiye, who had been goalless in the first two matches.
Baris Alper Yilmaz then gave Turkey the lead in the 30th minute, when a cross in front of McKenzie was placed home, as the centerback could not react quick enough.
Turikye's 2-1 halftime lead only lasted about four minutes, as Sebastian Berhalter's blast from just outside the penalty box skipped on the wet grass past traffic and inside the left post to tie the game.
The game remained 2-2 until the 8th minute of stoppage time, when Kaan Ayhan knocked in a rebound for Turkiye, sending them home with a win in their final game of the tournament.
The United States made 9 starting changes from the team that won their opening two games against Paraguay and Australia, in a game that was completely meaningless in the standings.
McKenzie did not appear on this two victories, and the goal would have been his first in a major competition since the 2024-25 French Ligue 1 season, when he scored for Toulouse, his current club team.
McKenzie was named to the MLS Best XI in 2020 with the Philadelphia Union, before moving overseas to play in Belgium, and now France.
The United States still won Group D outright after Paraguay and Australia played to a 0-0 draw, likely securing both teams a spot in the Round of 32 that begins on Saturday.
Due to other results, the United States already knows they will play Group B third-place squad Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, July 1 at 8 p.m. in Santa Clara, California, outside of San Francisco.
The two countries have not played since a 2021 friendly won by the United States 1-0.
