Why Alex Morgan misses the USWNT Olympic roster isn’t as drastic as it seems

For the first time in 16 years, forward Alex Morgan will not be on the major tournament roster for the U.S. women’s national soccer team.

On Wednesday, coach Emma Hayes dropped Morgan from the 18-player squad for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris. In her absence, the US will be without a previous gold medalist, with the team’s last victory coming at the London Games in 2012.

“It was obviously a difficult decision, especially given Alex’s history and achievements with this team,” Hayes said, “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 get the opportunity to represent our country on the Olympic stage. This will always be a tournament close to my heart and I feel immense pride when I wear the badge.

In less than a month I look forward to supporting this team… pic.twitter.com/NAXmQnNN8B

— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) June 26, 2024

Hayes declined to elaborate on her reasons for leaving Morgan off the squad and drawing up a list of four alternates, including Gotham FC striker Lynn Williams. Instead, she emphasized “what a great player and person Alex Morgan has been” during her short stint working with her at this month’s camp for two friendlies against South Korea.

“I saw with my own eyes not only her qualities, but also her professionalism. Her record speaks for itself,” said Hayes. At the same time, she acknowledged the limitations of the 18-player roster, with spots for only 16 outfield players.

Morgan has leadership, having captained the Americans on the biggest stage of the World Cup. Her experience surpasses all other players on the roster in terms of appearances and goals. So what kept her from the Olympic team?

It had been clear since the friendlies in South Korea that Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson were the best starting positions, but Morgan was still in with a chance of making the squad. But her club performances may have damaged her campaign for a role.

“I come from the club level and what I’ve learned is that the best development happens at the club level,” Hayes said last month during her first media visit 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 possible place.”

Since taking over the role, Hayes has always been consistent with performance and form being 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 with limited club involvement – ​​she made just ten league appearances for the 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 by leading the NWSL with 15 goals, including 11 from the series. It was Morgan at her best, consistently creating shots with her left foot while finding enough space in the six-yard box to convert dangerous chances.

Morgan, who turns 35 on Tuesday, has also missed time due to a lingering ankle injury.

Her form was not as robust in early 2023, but her place in 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 managerial work, even if her scoring touch wasn’t quite in vintage form.

However, since the USWNT’s elimination in the World Cup round of 16, Morgan has struggled to score for both club and country. San Diego is out of shape this season and fired 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 has yet to find the back of the net in 2024, mid-season.

Given the Wave’s struggles to increase possession this year, Morgan had to drop deeper than normal to get the ball. This is illustrated by the fact that she has to direct her passes towards the field much more often: 16.2% of her distribution goes at least five meters towards goal, a percentage that is more often seen with a midfielder than with a striker and well above her 12 .1% in 2022. seemed less likely to attack an opponent with her dribbling, making just three take-ons in 542 minutes this season after 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 to stay in Hayes’ plans for the Olympics despite the team’s floundering form. Unfortunately, Morgan did not have the same strong USWNT performances that helped cement Shaw’s case for inclusion, with Hayes on Wednesday calling her involvement in national team goals “significant.”

Morgan’s biggest case for another Olympic appearance had more to do with the intangibles, whether that was her presence as an experienced 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 an 18-player roster, it’s clear that Hayes couldn’t justify these intangibles over more basic roster needs.

“There’s no denying that this program has been tremendously successful historically, but the reality is that it’s going to take a lot of work for us 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 is 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 have to do that to take the next step. So I won’t look back.”

Morgan’s 224 appearances for the USA far surpasses any player on the Olympic squad. (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 longer term. Hayes avoided questions about where the team might end up or what its goals would be for the Olympics, emphasizing that her mission was to get the team as close to its best level and version as possible.

Morgan, despite all the history and legacy she will leave behind in her absence, may have provided a short-term boost. Maybe she didn’t. It is impossible to predict what an individual player could contribute during a major tournament. Ultimately, Hayes is focusing on something bigger, building on the changes already implemented following last summer’s early exit from the World Cup.

“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)