Alex Morgan Snubbed Again for Olympic Spot

Alternate Lynn Williams replaces injured Catarina Macario, but ex-Cal star Morgan was not added to replace Williams

Alex Morgan / Julia Kapros-USA TODAY Sports

Former Cal soccer star Alex Morgan was subbed again Friday.

Two weeks ago, she was not named to the 18-player U.S. Olympic roster nor was she named one of the four alternates. But when it was announced Friday that midfielder Catarina Macario would be dropped from the Olympic roster because a lingering knee injury, there was some speculation that Morgan might be added as an alternate.

A forward, Lynn Williams, was elevated from the alternate group to the 18-player roster to replace Macario.  But instead of adding another forward – such as Morgan – to the fill the alternate spot vacated by Williams, coach Emma Hayes opted to add a defender, Emily Sams, to be the fourth member of the alternates. The four alternates train with the 18 roster players in preparation for the Olympic soccer competition, which begins June 25, and one would be promoted to the regular roster in the event of another injury. The U.S. squad plays two tuneup matches -- July 13 against Mexico and July 16 against Costa Rica.

This is the first time that Sams has received a call-up from the national camp, but she will be traveling to France with the U.S. squad for the Olympics.

It is unknown whether Hayes contacted Morgan with regard to the opening before the decision to add Sams was made.

It seems Hayes does not want Morgan on the squad, even though Morgan was a starter in most of the United States’ matches in 2024.  Hayes has said she is building for the long term, and the omission of veteran Morgan suggests the U.S. coach is looking toward the future and is cutting ties with some U.S. players from past major events. However, Williams was a member of the U.S. team in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2023 World Cup.

Morgan, who turned 35 years old a week ago, has scored 123 international goals, the most of any active American player. But she has not scored any goals in 10 games with the San Diego Wave of the NWSL this year, and she scored just two goals for the U.S. team this year. One of those goals was a penalty kick, and the other came back on February 23 and was the third goal in a 4-0 group-stage victory over Argentina in the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup.

Morgan was considered a borderline case to make the 18-player Olympic roster, although a lot of experts thought she would be included to add veteran leadership.  But such was not the case, and now Hayes has missed another opportunity to add Morgan.

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