While Philadelphia Union is hard at work in Clearwater, Florida preparing for its 2020 Major League Soccer campaign, homegrowns Mark McKenzie and Brenden Aaronson are with the United States Men's National Team ahead of their showdown with Costa Rica on Saturday, February 1st.
Ahead of the contest that will kick off at 3:55 p.m. ET on ESPN News, MLSSoccer.com's Matthew Doyle wrote about which players have the most to gain from the match in Carson, California. One of those according to Doyle is McKenzie, as he looks to break into the senior team with his first cap ahead of Concacaf Olympic Qualifying.
"That door is wide open for the Union's Mark McKenzie," Doyle writes. "McKenzie's often asked to be a line-breaking passer of the ball for Philly, and he often delivers. He was asked the same by Tab Ramos with the U-20s, and he usually delivered there as well. He is able to see and hit passes that cause real stress on the opposition's shape, and that's the kind of distribution from the back Berhalter seems to want to weaponize."