Why Alex Morgan missed the USWNT Olympic roster
For the first time in 16 years, forward Alex Morgan will not be on the roster for a major U.S. women’s national soccer team tournament.
On Wednesday, coach Emma Hayes cut Morgan from the 18-player roster for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris. In her absence, the U.S. will be without a previous gold medalist, with the team’s last victory coming at the 2012 London Games.
“It was obviously a difficult decision, especially given Alex’s history and achievements with this team,” said Hayes, “but I felt like I wanted to go in a different direction and selected other players.”
Morgan’s absence can be viewed in several ways. It’s the end of an era for the USWNT. Some will see it as a late move to balance younger players with veterans. Others will argue that Hayes made a simple football decision. Above all, Wednesday’s move reminded us that no spot on a U.S. roster is guaranteed.
“Today I am disappointed that I did not get the opportunity to represent our country on the Olympic stage,” Morgan posted on social media after the announcement. “This will always be a tournament close to my heart and I feel immense pride when I wear the badge.”
Today I am disappointed that I did not have the opportunity to represent our country on the Olympic stage. This will always be a tournament close to my heart and I take great pride in putting on the badge.
In less than a month I look forward to supporting this team… photo.twitter.com/NAXmQnNN8B
— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) June 26, 2024
Hayes declined to elaborate on her reasons for leaving Morgan off the roster, naming a list of four alternates, including Gotham FC forward Lynn Williams. Instead, she emphasized “what a great player and person Alex Morgan has been” during the brief time she worked with her at camp this month for two friendlies against South Korea.
“I saw not only her qualities, but her professionalism. Her track record speaks for itself,” Hayes said. At the same time, she acknowledged the limitations of the 18-player roster, with spots for only 16 outfield players.
Morgan has leadership, she captained the Americans on the biggest stage of the World Cup. Her experience surpasses every other player on the list in terms of appearances and goals. So what kept her off the Olympic team?
It had been clear since the friendlies in South Korea that the best strikers were Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson, but Morgan was still in contention for a place in the squad. But her club performances may have damaged her campaign for a role.
“I come from a club level and what I’ve learned is that the best development happens at the club level,” Hayes said during her first media presence last month in New York City, essentially addressing players directly through the media. “So go back to your clubs, play, compete, get healthy and put yourself in the best place possible.”
Since taking over the job, Hayes has been consistent in making performance and form important in her assessment, especially on the club side.
“There are players on the roster that are doing well, and the decision to include those players was one that we certainly thought about, but I think it’s a well-balanced roster,” Hayes said. “I have considered all the factors that we will need in the Olympic Games, and (this selection is) one that I am very happy with.”
After a few years of limited club involvement – she made just 10 league appearances with Orlando Pride and Tottenham from 2019-2021, including a break while pregnant with daughter Charlie – Morgan enjoyed a resurgent 2022 season for the newly launched San Diego Wave. She won the Golden Boot after leading the NWSL with 15 goals, including 11 from the series. It was Morgan at her best, consistently connecting with her left foot while also finding enough space in the six-yard box to convert dangerous chances.
Morgan, who turns 35 on Tuesday, has also missed games with a lingering ankle injury.
Her form wasn’t quite as robust at the start of 2023, but her place on Vlatko Andonovski’s World Cup squad was assured. She was a regular in his line-up throughout the run-up to the tournament, and the hope was that she could do some thankless line-leading work even if her scoring skills weren’t quite in vintage form.
Since the USWNT’s World Cup round of 16 exit, however, Morgan has struggled to score for both club and country. San Diego has struggled to find form this season, firing head coach Casey Stoney this week. Still, a player of Morgan’s pedigree is expected to score even when the going gets tough. Instead, she’s still without a goal by the midway point of the 2024 season.
Given the Wave’s struggles to increase possession this year, Morgan has had to drop deeper than usual to get on the ball. That’s exemplified by the fact that she’s had to direct her passes upfield far more often: 16.2% of her distributions go at least five yards, a rate more commonly seen in a midfielder than a striker and well above her 12.1% in 2022. She’s also seemed less inclined to attack an opponent with her dribble, recording just three take-ons in 542 minutes this season, down from 35 in 1,630 minutes last year.
Even more worrying is the 0 in her goals scored column this season, despite logging almost 600 minutes.
Morgan’s lack of versatility could also have played a role in Hayes’ decision. Morgan has long been an expert striker, scoring 123 goals as the USWNT’s fifth all-time leading scorer. But that specialization comes with a lack of experience in other positions, such as some players called up for the tournament.
Hampered in part by her club team’s stagnant approach to possession, Morgan has been unable to enjoy an equally plentiful supply of service in the box. She has yet to make a single shot inside the six-yard box in the 2024 season, which has led to a steep decline in her expected goals per shot, and only six of her 20 shot attempts this season have come with her stronger left foot.
Wave teammate Jaedyn Shaw was able to do just enough despite the team’s faltering form to stay in Hayes’ plans for the Olympics. Unfortunately, Morgan didn’t have the same amount of strong USWNT performances that helped cement Shaw’s case for inclusion, with Hayes calling her involvement in national team goals “significant” on Wednesday.
Morgan’s biggest argument for another Olympic appearance had more to do with the intangibles, whether that was her presence as a veteran leader alongside captain Lindsey Horan, or the kind of presence she could provide in the late stages of a knockout match given her major tournament track record. With a roster of 18 players, it’s clear that Hayes couldn’t justify these intangibles over more fundamental roster needs.
“There’s no denying that this program has been tremendously successful historically, but the reality is it’s going to take a lot of work to get back to that top level,” Hayes said.
Youth are part of that process. Hayes named the youngest Olympic roster for the USWNT since 2008, when the team won gold in Beijing. The current selection has an average age of 26.8 years, four years younger than the team that went to Tokyo in 2021 and settled for a bronze medal. But even greater is the difference in the number of performances compared to the last Olympic Games. The average caps per player in 2021 were 111; for this team the average is only 58.
“When we look at the accumulation of the team, there’s a lack of development, of putting some of the less experienced players in positions where they can develop that experience,” Hayes said. “I think it’s important that we do that to take the next step. So I’m not looking back.”
Morgan’s 224 appearances for the U.S. far outnumber any player on the Olympic team. (Photo by Brad Smith, Getty Images for USSF)
Hayes pointed to Shaw’s inclusion in the squad to support this idea, focusing on younger players and their development at major tournaments to gain experience that would benefit the USWNT immediately and in the long term. Hayes avoided questions about where the team might end up or what the goals would be for the Olympics, emphasizing that her mission was to get the team as close to the best level and version as possible.
Morgan, for all the history and legacy she will leave in her absence, might have provided a short-term boost. Maybe she didn’t. It is impossible to predict what an individual player can contribute to a major tournament. Ultimately, Hayes is aiming for something bigger, building on the changes already implemented following last summer’s early World Cup elimination.
“For us, this is an opportunity to show that these lessons will take us much further than last time,” she said. “But there are no guarantees in anything in life.”
(Top photo: Getty Images; design: Dan Goldfarb)
