For the past 14 years, Alex Morgan has been closely associated with the U.S. women’s national team. However, news of the forward’s abrupt and unexpected exit from key competitions with a squad whose standards she helped uphold and whose stature she substantially improved emerged on Wednesday.
Morgan is not one of the four alternates who will go to France, nor was she included in USWNT head coach Emma Hayes’ 18-player Olympic squad. Rather, she will watch the USWNT compete in a major event from a distance for the first time since she was awarded her first cap in March 2010. Morgan did not play in a significant competition for the USWNT until the 2008 Olympics.
Although she may still hope that it isn’t the end, this is not how she would have ended things, and the news on Wednesday served as a sobering reminder that not many athletes are allowed to retire on their own terms. Morgan posted a message on social media saying, “I’m disappointed about not having the opportunity to represent our country on the Olympic stage today.”
“This will always be a tournament that is close to my heart and I take immense pride any time I put on the crest.” What implications does Morgan’s absence have for the USWNT heading into the Olympics and beyond?
Hayes emphasized again and again in a conversation with media on Wednesday how tough it is to choose just 16 outfield players for an Olympic roster. In the brief time that they collaborated during the most recent USWNT camp, she lauded Morgan as a player and a person.
In the end, though, Morgan is a unique kind of striker who needs to be placed centrally as a No. 9. The rest of the parts have been falling into place around her for more than a decade, and her skill set along with the USWNT depth chart validated that.
Morgan, turning 35 next week, finds herself in a USWNT roster that has trended younger in recent years. Many of her peers from the previous generation have retired, shifting the team’s average age down significantly compared to the Olympics three years ago. This squad boasts remarkable versatility, featuring players like the dynamic Sophia Smith and 19-year-old Jaedyn Shaw, Morgan’s teammate at San Diego Wave, who excels across various attacking roles.
Hayes’ decision-making centers on versatility, highlighted by the fluid and precise performance of the front three – Smith, Mallory Swanson, and Trinity Rodman – in the team’s recent match. Coming off the bench, they exploited South Korea’s fatigued defense: shortly after entering, Smith replaced Morgan and combined with Rodman, who assisted Swanson with a deft backheel flick, leading to Smith’s goal.
