U.S. women’s national team forward Alex Morgan is not on the team headed to Paris for the Olympics this summer. Coach Emma Hayes named her 18-player roster, as well as four alternates, on Wednesday with the two-time World Cup winner the most noticeable absence.
Morgan, who appeared for the U.S. at the 2012, 2016 and 2021 Games, said in a social media post that she was disappointed but looking forward “to supporting this team and cheering them on alongside the rest of our country.”
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Hayes praised Morgan as a player and person but said with only 16 outfield players on the roster, she “wanted to go in another direction.”
“I think it’s a balanced roster,” Hayes told reporters Wednesday. “I think I’ve considered all the factors that we’re going to need throughout the Olympics and (it’s) one that I’m really happy with.”
The roster is the first major tournament assignment for Hayes, who officially joined the team on the ground last month after the conclusion of Chelsea’s Women’s Super League season in England. She led the U.S. in two friendly matches earlier this month against South Korea, resulting in two multi-goal, shutout victories.
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Why Alex Morgan missed the USWNT Olympic roster
Hayes was hired in November 2023 as coach after an extensive search to find the right person to fill the vacancy left after Vlatko Andonovski’s departure following the USWNT’s failure to advance past the round of 16 at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
The U.S. will face Zambia, Germany and Australia in this summer’s group stage in France, playing matches in Marseille and Nice. Before heading over for their first game on July 25, the USWNT will play two send-off games in New Jersey and Washington, D.C., against Mexico and Costa Rica, respectively.
2024 U.S. Olympic women’s soccer team
GOALKEEPERS (2): Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
DEFENDERS (6): Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emily Fox (Arsenal), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC), Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit), Jenna Nighswonger (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon), Rose Lavelle (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Catarina Macario (Chelsea)
FORWARDS (5): Crystal Dunn (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars)
ALTERNATES (4): Jane Campbell (goalkeeper, Houston Dash), Hal Hershfelt (midfielder, Washington Spirit), Croix Bethune (midfielder, Washington Spirit), Lynn Williams (forward, NJ/NY Gotham FC)
Why was Alex Morgan left off the roster?
Morgan’s omission from the roster will be the obvious shock decision from Hayes. But considering the depth of the forward pool and the form of Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Mal Swanson in the NWSL, plus Jaedyn Shaw’s tear earlier this year on the national team, combined with Crystal Dunn’s versatility (she was a lock for this roster, and it was just a matter of what category she was designated in), Morgan is now the odd one out and it’s a decision that Hayes will be able to justify.
Today, I’m disappointed about not having the opportunity to represent our country on the Olympic stage. This will always be a tournament that is close to my heart and I take immense pride any time I put on the crest.
In less than a month, I look forward to supporting this team… pic.twitter.com/NAXmQnNN8B
— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) June 26, 2024
In the June set of friendlies under Hayes, Morgan had a quiet camp. It was in part due to a cautious approach to prevent injury, but it also opened the door for alternatives who offer greater positional flexibility, which is exactly what happened. Based on the two games against Korea Republic, there was no question that the starting forward line at the Olympics would feature Smith, Rodman and Swanson. Keeping Dunn in the forward pool allowed Hayes to maximize her midfield picks and add Korbin Albert.
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Still, the decision to leave off Morgan is a big, definitive move, but one that a coach of Hayes’ stature shouldn’t be afraid to make. For a team that has spent years trying to figure out the balance between veteran players and young talent — and arguably not getting it correct, if the results at the 2021 Olympics and 2023 World Cup are taken into account — Hayes has essentially finally ripped off the bandaid with this roster announcement.
That’s not to say there aren’t veterans in the mix, with goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and Dunn very much a part of this team. But Morgan has also been a face of the program for years. The 34-year-old was by far the most capped player in the pool with 224 appearances and 123 international goals. Midfielder Lindsey Horan, who co-captained the team with Morgan at the World Cup last year, is the next closest in the roster with 148 appearances, followed by Dunn at 147.
Is Korbin Albert’s inclusion a surprise?
If Morgan is the player left off, Albert is the player that made it in. The Paris-Saint Germain midfielder has featured in 11 games for the U.S. including the W Gold Cup and SheBelieves Cup earlier this year. In the end, Hayes wasn’t forced to drop a defender in order to add Albert to the midfield, thanks to Dunn’s positional flexibility. It’s not all that surprising Albert made the final 18, considering Sam Coffey has been dealing with an ankle injury over the past few weeks. While Coffey finally made the bench for the Thorns in this past week’s game, having both Albert and Coffey as options feels like the safest bet possible for the USWNT.
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USWNT coach on Korbin Albert: 'I think she’s had a really, really tough time'
The 20-year-old previously shared anti-LGBTQ+ content on social media and subsequently apologized earlier this year after pressure from past and present USWNT players, including Megan Rapinoe. The latter’s criticism seemed especially pointed because Albert was the first player to wear the No. 15 for the USWNT after Rapinoe’s retirement. Albert switched to No. 5 earlier this month. Fans have previously booed Albert when she’s played for the U.S., especially during June’s matches which featured Pride Month celebrations.
Last week, longtime U.S. forward Christen Press expressed her disappointment with the lack of repercussions for Albert, saying on her podcast “The RE-CAP Show”, “I think that maybe the most slap-in-the-face thing that happened here was that this is all happening during Pride Month, that the team wore Pride jerseys including Korbin, and then they auction them off, including her jersey … That just means they’re going through the motions.”
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Albert’s current teammate, Trinity Rodman, also addressed Albert’s situation, telling Vanity Fair, “Having strong opinions is difficult, especially when you are looked at a lot and you have a platform to do so. Obviously getting booed is horrible, but there’s people that have their opinions and have their beliefs and they’re not always going to match up with those.
“For us, she’s on the U.S. women’s national team and we’re going to be her teammates and support her. When she comes on the field, she’s just like everybody else wearing that number and playing for our country, and she’s working her butt off to do so.”
What is the USWNT’s schedule?
The USWNT will open their tournament against Zambia at Stade de Nice on July 25 at 3 p.m. ET, pending any last-minute suspensions by FIFA for “undue influence by third parties” in the federation. They’ll then shift to Marseille for the next two group stage games at Stade de Marseille, first against Germany on July 28 at 3 p.m. ET, then against Australia on July 31 at 1 p.m. ET.
If they finish first in the group, the U.S. would head to Paris for the quarterfinals, but if they finish second they’d stay in Marseille for their first knock-out stage match. The top two third-place teams will also advance to the quarterfinals, with those matches staged in Lyon and Nantes.
But first, the USWNT will play two more tune-up matches on home soil, first against Mexico on July 13 at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey, before heading to Washington, D.C., for their send-off match against Costa Rica on July 16 at Audi Field. Hayes has also named three training players for this camp, starting July 8, with forward Alyssa Thompson and defenders Kate Wiesner and Emily Sams joining the team ahead of the trip to France.
Required reading
- Why Alex Morgan missing the USWNT Olympic roster isn’t as drastic as it looks
- USWNT head coach Emma Hayes brings unique personality back to the country that ‘made’ her
- How the USWNT lured Emma Hayes away from Chelsea: Inside the near $2 million deal
(Photo: C. Morgan Engel / Getty Images)
