Alex Morgan’s name was left off the United States women’s national team roster for a second time in a row on Wednesday as the star forward won’t compete at the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup.
Morgan also wasn’t included in the December roster that saw a litany of younger players play two friendlies against China. This time the roster has almost all the big names with Becky Sauerbrunn and Morgan being the major omissions.
Taking over Morgan’s role at the No. 9 will be either Sophia Smith or rising Chelsea star Mia Fishel.
Morgan left off USWNT Gold Cup roster
The full squad of 23 https://t.co/gGguYU6x0O pic.twitter.com/5wQiADob9l
— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) February 7, 2024
The decision to leave Morgan off the roster raised eyebrows and questions about the possibility of her not getting called up for this summer's Olympics. If the 34-year-old can’t make a 23-player roster for the Gold Cup, will she make the 18-player roster for the Paris Olympics?
Interim USWNT head coach Twila Kilgore didn’t rule out the possibility of Morgan still playing in the Olympics.
"Nobody is out of the mix," Kilgore said to the media. “This is the group we feel is the right group for now and who we need to look at in this (Gold Cup) tournament."
"We recognize there's multiple players that aren't going to be in the environment that we are still looking at but are still very much so in the mix."
Morgan’s goal drought for the USWNT goes back to February 22, 2023, when she scored against Brazil in the SheBelieves Cup. She’s failed to find the back of the net in 11-straight games for the USWNT.
It seems that Kilgore and incoming head coach Emma Hayes want to look at younger options for the No. 9 position to succeed Morgan.
One piece of good news for the USWNT is that Mallory Swanson will train with the team during the Gold Cup. Swanson missed the 2023 Women’s World Cup after tearing her patellar tendon in April and is nearing a return to action.
The inaugural Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup kicks off on Feb. 20 and concludes with the final on March 10.
The tournament features a group stage followed be a knockout stage beginning in the quarterfinals. Concacaf’s best teams will compete in the tournament along with four South American sides (Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Paraguay).
The USWNT will face Mexico, Argentina and the winner of Guyana/Dominican Republic in Group A.
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