Alex Morgan's inclusion on the U.S. women's national team roster for the SheBelieves Cup suggests the former California star is expected to be part of the U.S. national team competing in this summer's Olympics. I wonder if there is one?
Morgan's chances look much better than they did on Feb. 7, when he was first removed from the U.S. squad for the Concacaf Gold Cup. As a result, the 34-year-old appeared to be an outsider when it came to the Olympic roster. She was then placed on the Gold Cup roster as a replacement for an injured player and ended up starting most games and scoring two goals.
And now, she is on the U.S. SheBelieves roster, even though Mallory Swanson and Catarino Macario, who was removed from the Gold Cup roster due to a knee injury, have been added to the U.S. SheBelieves Cup roster.23 He became one of the players.
Whether Morgan is a SheBelieves Cup starter and how much she contributes in these two games will be a stronger indicator of her status in the Olympic competition. But for now, it seems likely that she will be on the Olympic roster and provide much-needed experience for the young U.S. national team.
Morgan has 123 international goals, eighth most by a woman, second most by an active player, and most by an active American player. This is a great resume that will serve you well at major international events, regardless of her age.
Interim head coach Twyla Kilgore and head coach Emma Hayes haven't had many opportunities to evaluate talent. The U.S. only has four more games after the SheBelieves Cup before the Olympics begin in Paris on July 24, and coaches will need to build Olympic rosters to improve chemistry among players. So Morgan's inclusion on the SheBelieves roster suggests that she's part of her future plans.
On April 6th at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time, the fourth-ranked U.S. national team will face seventh-ranked Japan in a SheBelieves Cup semifinal match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. World No. 10 Brazil will face No. 9 Canada in the other semi-final match on the same day at the same venue.
All four teams will then travel to Columbus, Ohio for the championship and third place games on April 9th.
Morgan began playing with the San Diego Wave of the National Women's Soccer League. Morgan didn't have a goal or an assist in last week's season-opening 2-1 loss to Kansas City, but he did assist on Emily van Egmond's goal in overtime against the Seattle Reign on Friday night. and won 1-0.
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