Those who had been pushing in recent years for the U.S. women’s team to go in a new direction with younger players got their wish Wednesday morning: Forward Alex Morgan will not be a member of the team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In their place are younger forwards Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson and rising star Jaedyn Shaw, who is 19 but in her third year as a professional and has already scored seven goals for the national team. Those four have an average age of 22.5 years; Morgan will turn 35 early next month.
Additionally, USWNT veteran Crystal Dunn, 31, who excelled at left back for the 2019 World Cup champion team, is listed as a forward on the roster. She has played in advanced roles for her club teams and has 39 goals and 25 assists in 141 NWSL matches and won three league championships.
New coach Emma Hayes praised Morgan’s professionalism and personal qualities, which she witnessed at her first training camp with the team.
“It was a difficult decision, especially given Alex’s record and history with this team,” Hayes told reporters Wednesday. “His record on him speaks for itself.”
Emma Hayes will go with a young lineup to the Olympic Games
Hayes, who left her position at English Women’s Super League champions Chelsea to take charge of the USWNT ahead of this tournament, also left out defender Becky Sauerbrunn, 39, who has captained the team regularly in recent years. years and ranks 10th.th among USWNT players in career appearances.
Instead, Hayes chose Naomi Girma, the top player on the U.S. women’s national team at the 2023 World Cup, along with Tierna Davidson, Emily Sonnett, Jenna Nighswonger, Casey Krueger and Emily Fox.
This is one of the least experienced teams the Americans have taken to a major tournament, with only four players having 100 or more caps and five with fewer than 20.
Among the latter group is talented midfielder Catarina Macario, who has missed much of the past two years recovering from a torn ACL. She can play in midfield or up front and she was seen as a team-changing talent when she broke into the team earlier this decade.
One of the reasons Hayes had to make such challenging decisions is that the Olympics only allow 18 players per team in the soccer competition. Last year’s Women’s World Cup allowed 23 players per team, and the current Euro 2024 and Copa América tournaments between men’s national teams expanded their rosters to 26 players.
Hayes said being able to select just 16 outfield players and two goalkeepers made it essential to choose players who could “adapt” to various roles and deal with the demands of playing multiple games in a short period of time.
Alex Morgan will miss the Paris Olympics
Neither Sauerbrunn nor Morgan were named among the USWNT reserves.
With 123 goals in 224 international matches, Morgan ranks No. 5 in career scoring and No. 9 in appearances among USWNT players. She has been part of the roster for every major tournament since the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, winning an Olympic gold medal in 2012, a bronze in 2020 and World Cups in 2015 and 2019.
He scored eight goals in the World Cup and six in the Olympics, including winning goals in the semifinals of the 2012 Games (against Canada) and the 2019 World Cup (against England). He scored five of the team’s 13 goals in the destruction of Thailand in the opening match of that World Cup.
But Morgan has not scored in eight appearances this season for the San Diego Wave in the NWSL regular season. She and she started all four matches at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup without scoring. She has only scored four goals for the United States since 2022.
“There are goals on this team,” Hayes told The Jugo Mobile. “But I have to train them to put them in the best positions to execute that.
“I’m encouraged by the things I’ve seen.”
USWNT Olympic Games Roster
Goalkeepers: Casey Murphy (19 caps), Alyssa Naeher (104)
Defenders (international matches/goals): Land Davidson (58/3); Emily Fox (41/1); Noemí Girma (32/0); Casey Krueger (49/0); Jenna Nightswonger (9/2); Emily Sonnett (91/2).
Midfielders: Korbin Albert (11/0); Sam Coffey (17/1); Lindsey Horan (148/35); Rosa Lavelle (100/24); Catarina Macario (8/19).
Forward: Crystal Dunn (147/25); Trinidad Rodman (38/7); Jaedyn Shaw (7/14); Sofia Smith (48/19); Mallory Swanson (92/34).
