The 2023-24 Belgian Professional League is actually one which Mark McKenzie and Genk will need to neglect, however fortunately for McKenzie, he has a brand new alternative with the U.S. males’s nationwide crew to give attention to.
McKenzie is with the USMNT forward of the 2024 Copa America group stage, which begins for the People on Sunday evening. The previous Philadelphia Union homegrown defender is certainly one of 5 centerbacks in Gregg Berhalter’s squad, aiming to function within the competitors for his first cap of 2024.
After not that includes in opposition to Colombia and Brazil earlier this month, McKenzie is keen to struggle in opposition to powerful South American opposition this summer time.
“I feel now we have a gaggle of fellows, we’re all hungry,” McKenzie informed reporters Tuesday. “We’re all aggressive and each time we step into this atmosphere, I feel the expectations rise. We demand extra of ourselves and it makes us demand extra of one another, and on the finish of the day, that’ll increase performances and lift the degrees right here.
“You step right into a platform like Copa America and now you’ve a trophy on the road,” he added. “Everybody realizes what we have to do. It’s about placing collectively high quality performances every step of the way in which, and from there we simply proceed to develop as a gaggle.”
At membership stage, McKenzie was one win away from being a Belgian Champion in 2023 however Genk’s quest of lifting the title fell simply brief on the ultimate day of the season. Since then, he’s remained a stalwart within the Genk backline, however the membership took a step again by way of preventing for silverware on the home stage.
The 25-year-old logged 44 mixed appearances final season, logging over 4,000 minutes of taking part in time. Nonetheless, Genk completed fifth within the Belgian Professional League Championship Spherical, lacking out on European Soccer for subsequent season.
McKenzie’s first precedence this summer time stays on serving to the USMNT win the Copa America earlier than beginning a brand new chase for league success at Genk.
“I feel in Genk we really feel like we didn’t have the season that we needed to,” McKenzie stated. “We had expectations coming into the yr following up on simply lacking the championship on the ultimate match day of final season. So not stepping up and reaching these targets, I feel that was positively a success. I had excessive expectations of myself and I might have been higher over the course of the season, nevertheless it’s additionally tough when now we have three video games every week, and we even have rotation.
“I feel all people realized that it wasn’t actually about who was taking part in, it was extra so about stepping up and doing all your function to the fullest of your means,” he added. “The outcomes we couldn’t actually management, and once you undergo tough stretches as nicely, it’s powerful to seek out that kind once more. These are the years the place we actually realized essentially the most about ourselves as gamers and other people, and from there you possibly can develop.”