Former University of California star Alex Morgan returned to the starting lineup for the United States' game against South Korea on Tuesday night in a rainy St. Paul, Minn. Her presence on the field intensified the debate over whether Morgan will be a member of the U.S. women's national team for this summer's Olympics.
Morgan replaced Mallory Swanson, who started in the No. 9 striker position Saturday against South Korea. Swanson had two goals and one assist on Saturday and is likely a lock to make the 18-man Olympic team.
Morgan was one of nine U.S. players in Tuesday's starting 11 who did not play Saturday, being substituted about 17 minutes into the second half. That raises the question:
Was U.S. head coach Emma Hayes simply giving Morgan and the other new starters a fair chance to prove themselves before final selection for the Olympic team in late June? Or does Morgan's return to the starting lineup indicate that she's healthy and fit enough to make the Olympic team? Or does her substitution with Swanson early in the second half suggest anything, given that the U.S. offense was clearly more efficient after Morgan's departure?
Will Hayes choose to keep 16-year-old Lily Johannes on the Olympic roster instead of Morgan, who is 18 years older? Hayes has said he's looking to strengthen the U.S. team for the long term, and Johannes impressed on Tuesday by scoring the U.S.' third goal.
Those two games against 20th-ranked South Korea were the first two for the U.S. under Hayes, but they were also the last two before Hayes whittles the current 23-man roster down to an 18-man Olympic roster, and the general consensus was that Morgan was on the edge of making the Olympic roster.
Morgan was the player TV commentator DeMarcus Beasley said he would be watching in Tuesday's game during his pregame show.
“She needs to put the ball in the back of the net,” he said. “Right now she's just on the outside looking in.” [for a spot on the Olympic roster]. ”
Morgan didn't score, but she started the sequence that led to America's first-half goal, scored by Crystal Dunn.
Morgan did not play in Saturday's 4-0 win over South Korea and has barely played in recent games, injuring her ankle on April 17 and not appearing in any other soccer games until playing 28 minutes off the bench in the San Diego Wave's 0-0 draw with Angel City in a National Women's Soccer League game on May 23.
This was her only playing time since the injury until Tuesday, so there is some doubt whether she will be fully 100% physically healthy after the rest.
She was on the 23-man roster for the two matches against South Korea, ranked 20th in the world, but it's unclear whether she will be included on the 18-man roster for the U.S. Olympic team in Paris in July, which will be announced before the U.S. plays its two final warm-up matches, against Mexico on July 13 and Costa Rica on July 16.
Morgan is the active U.S. player's leader in international goals with 123 and, until Saturday, had started nearly every game the U.S. women's national team has played this year. But she turns 35 on July 2, three weeks before the U.S. plays its first Olympic soccer game, and she hasn't played much recently.
She has scored two goals for the U.S. Women's National Team this year, one of which was a penalty goal.
While Hayes may have already made up his mind about Morgan's Olympic presence, the rest of us will have to wait a few weeks for the U.S. Olympic roster to be announced.
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