Neil Pierre and Mark McKenzie are USMNT teammates today, and will be Union teammates next year
When Pierre was younger, he wanted to emulate McKenzie's Supporters Shield triumph. McKenzie has watched Pierre's rise, and knows how much potential there is.
The symbolism of Mark McKenzie and Neil Pierre sitting next to each other was clear, and intentional.
U.S. Soccer wanted them together for a chat with the media Monday, the opening day of the men’s national team’s training camp ahead of the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals.
So there they were, the national team’s present and future at centerback: McKenzie the World Cup and European club veteran at 27, Pierre the towering prospect at 19.
“I think he’s a player who has shown, for his age, just a lot of maturity,” McKenzie said. “I think that’s something that sticks out: his poise, his understanding and reading of the game. … He’s gone to Europe [on a six-month loan to Denmark’s Lyngby], he’s come back, he’s performed extremely well with the Union this season, and rightfully he got his first callup in the previous [U.S.] camp.”
But they aren’t just national team colleagues. They’re also the Union’s present and future. And on that front, the roles are reversed. Pierre is the present in the midst of a breakout season, and McKenzie is the future as he prepares to return to his old club in January.
“It’s obviously a unique situation and exciting,” McKenzie said “Coming up from the academy myself and moving to the first team, now seeing a player like Neil rise through the ranks and take hold of the team — especially the back line, with both hands — it’s something that I think any player looks forward to, being able to share the pitch together.”
» READ MORE: What sparked Mark McKenzie’s return to the Union? Being closer to ‘family,’ on and off the field
Pierre reflected on his time in the Union’s academy, which coincided with McKenzie helping the club win the 2020 Supporters’ Shield.
“It was a dream of mine to be exactly where Mark was, and I think I slowly started to do that,” he said. “I think having him back would be a very full-circle moment for me. And I think obviously now we’re training together, I’m very excited for that: [to] be familiar with his type of game, adapt to each other, learn things about each other. and then bring it back to the field.”
McKenzie figured that might be coming.
“I consider myself ‘Unc’ now because yeah, I’ve got some years on him,” he said. “Nonetheless, it’s definitely a surreal experience, but one that gives me a lot of excitement because it shows that the future’s in really good hands. Hopefully I can provide some kind of wisdom for Neil, and then at the same time he can teach me a few things as well.”
» READ MORE: Neil Pierre signed a new deal with the Union into 2031. Don’t expect him to be here for all of it.
That all will set the stage for Pierre’s eventual move to Europe, whether next summer or some time after that. Everyone knows how many suitors there are, and that it’s just a matter of time. But the Union want Pierre and McKenzie to play together some, and are preparing for that to happen next year.
“He has all the tools to be a top defender not just in MLS but he can do it abroad as well and at the international level,” McKenzie said. “I speak highly of him and I have a lot of praise for him, but still also got a ways to go. But no doubt about it, he’ll live up to the expectations.”
In the lead-up to this camp, many outsiders expected Pierre to be picked for the under-23 squad, as it begins preparing for the 2028 Olympics. That he is with the senior team is a big endorsement from the coaching staff, no matter his playing time. (There might not be much, with veterans Chris Richards, Auston Trusty, and McKenzie on the squad.)
“I think for the second time around, definitely I still have the same confidence and I think that comes from the players,” he said. “Every player’s giving me confidence of, like, ‘Hey, you’re back again for a reason: Just keep doing what you’re doing, and you’ll go where you need to go.’”
» READ MORE: Cavan Sullivan calls it ‘a cool opportunity’ to be on the USMNT with Christian Pulisic
If he does see the field, it will formally tie him to the U.S. program. And it will happen to come against the nation of his parents’ ancestry. They moved from Haiti to New York as teenagers, then later to Pennsylvania: Lebanon, Harrisburg, and their current home of Blue Bell.
“They’re very happy and excited to have the country they were born [in], and then having their son play against that country at the highest level,” Pierre said.
The U.S.-Haiti games will be played Saturday in Miami (4:30 p.m., TBS, Universo) and next Tuesday in Cincinnati (7 p.m., TBS, Universo). The winner advances to the final four in Los Angeles in March.
