Cal Sports Report

Alex Morgan a Veteran in the U.S. World Cup 'Generation Gap'

Former Cal star named captain of the USWNT; ESPN report shows humor, a lot of respect for her from younger teammates

Jake Curtis

Alex Morgan is 34 years old and has a 3-year-old daughter, creating a virtual generation gap between the former Cal soccer star and many of her younger teammates on the U.S. Women’s World Cup squad, many of whom are in their early 20s or younger.

Morgan’s experience in three previous World Cups will be important when the 2023 Women’s World Cup begins on July 20 in New Zealand and Australia. But it also leads to some generational humor, as noted in an ESPN story about the age gaps between members of the American team.

The same could be said (at least regarding the international tournament) for the San Diego Wave’s 23-year-old Naomi Girma. In preparation for her first-ever World Cup, the up-and-coming center-back found it amusing that veteran Alex Morgan utilized Mapquest, a website that was popular for printable driving directions in the early-2000s, in her younger days for travel.

"We were joking about MapQuest ... she would pull out the actual map to get to games," Girma said with a laugh.

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---Friday update: Morgan and Lindsey Horan were named co-captains of the U.S. team that will begin its quest for a third consecutive Women's World Cup title in two weeks. When both players are on the field at the same time, Horan will wear the captain armband.

"We have a lot of leaders on this team among the young players and the veteran players and among those Lindsey and Alex have vast experience in big games and they understand what it takes to win at the highest levels," U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski said in a news release.

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However, Morgan has become an invaluable resource for the younger players, many of whom have never played in a World Cup. The ESPN story notes this:

Morgan, a three-time participant in the World Cup along with Megan Rapinoe and Kelley O’Hara, has also been a vital mentor for the younger group of players.

"Every day in camp, Alex is always kind of taking me under her wing, helping me, explaining things to me," [22-yer-old Sophia] Smith said. "She's someone that I've looked up to my whole life, so playing with her now, it's the best thing ever and I can just watch how she goes through life and learn from it just day in and day out at practice."

The younger players can thank veterans like Morgan, who was one of leaders of the fight for equal pay with the American men. The ESPN story adds this:

For years, USWNT players clashed with U.S. Soccer as they sought equal pay and better working conditions. After filing a gender discrimination lawsuit in 2019, the case was settled in February 2022, providing a lump-sum payment to players for $22 million. Months later, they then agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement, which included an equal split of World Cup bonuses between the USWNT and the U.S. men’s national team.

“We actually just got our first settlement check [from U.S. Soccer] in the mail a week ago," Morgan said last week. "Naomi was joking that she didn't get one and I was like, be grateful you just get equal."

There is some hero worship, as acknowledged by 18-year-old team member Alyssa Thompson.

"When I came in, every single player I was like, 'Oh my gosh, that's her in real life,'" she said of her thoughts about training with the best in the country. "Literally every single player, I was like, 'Whoa, I can't believe I'm here.'"  

Cover photo of Alex Morgan by Yannick Peterhans, USA TODAY

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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