Alex Morgan Named to U.S. Women's Soccer Roster for CONCACAF Event
Apparently Alex Morgan’s time with the U.S. Women’s National Team is not quite over. The former Cal standout was among the 23 players chosen for the U.S. women’s soccer team’s roster that will participate in the CONCACAF women’s championship next month.
Megan Rapinoe, who turns 37 next month, was another veteran who was brought back to the U.S. roster.
Morgan plays for the San Diego Wave of the National Women’s Soccer League, and she and Rapinoe return to the USWNT for the first time since October 2021.
What this means for Morgan’s future on the USWNT and her possible participation in 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand remains to be seen. Morgan will turn 33 next month, and there were hints after the Americans’ disappointing bronze-medal showing in the Olympics last summer that they might turn to a younger group.
Morgan’s involvement in the 2021 Olympics was more limited than expected. She was not a starter in the bronze-medal game and played just nine minutes in that contest before leaving with an injury.
The American roster for the CONCACAF competition still has a number of younger players. Only 10 of the 23 players chosen have experience in World Cup and Olympic qualifying. A number of players who might have been on the roster were ruled out because of injury. Sam Mewis (knee), Abby Dahlkemper (ribs), Tierna Davidson (knee), Lynn Williams (hip), Christen Press (knee) and Catarina Macario (knee) have been ruled out, and Crystal Dunn is unavailable after giving birth to her son last month.
"Since we were last together in April, we've been evaluating a lot of games and hours of video and have had extensive conversations among the coaching staff to arrive at this 26-player roster for the Colombia games and the final 23 for qualifying," U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski said, according to ESPN. "As usual, the players don't make these decisions easy, but we feel this is a roster that can accomplish all of our goals over the four weeks we will be together for what
Following two matches against Colombia, the U.S. team will head to Mexico to prepare for the CONCACAF W Championship, which will run from July 4-18 and will be played in Monterrey.
The USA is in Group A, and will face Haiti on Monday, July 4, followed by a match against Jamaica on July 7. The group stage concludes with a match against Mexico on July 11. The semifinals will take place on July 14, and the third-place match and championship game will be played four days later.
The tournament winner will get an automatic berth to the 2024 Olympics in Paris, while the second- and third-place finishers will play off in September 2023 for CONCACAF's second and final Olympic berth.
USWNT roster:
Goalkeepers: Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
Defenders: Alana Cook (OL Reign), Emily Fox (Racing Louisville FC), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign), Kelley O'Hara (Washington Spirit), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC), Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit)
Midfielders: Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon), Taylor Kornieck (San Diego Wave), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign), Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)
Forwards: Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave), Midge Purce (NJ/NY Gotham), Mallory Pugh (Chicago Red Stars), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns)
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Cover photo of Alex Morgan by Ray Acevedo, USA TODAY Sports
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