The USWNT simply wouldn’t have the recent legacy that it does without players like Alex Morgan. So, when she was notably absent from the first roster for the recent Gold Cup, people started talking. Morgan did end up playing–replacing the injured USWNT newbie Mia Fishel–and bringing that same leadership and power that we’ve come to expect, but her initial absence has still left a lot of questions. It’s no secret that we’ve seen a lot of change in professional women’s soccer in just the last year between retirements, call-ups, and roster changes, so what does all of this mean for Morgan?
So, first things first, was this a snub? The short answer would be no. While Morgan has been a promised player for the past decade there is more soccer talent in the country than maybe ever before. This is the first tournament since the World Cup and a perfect opportunity to see how a newer, fresh squad could play together.
There’s absolutely no denying Morgan’s greatness, but despite her goal in the opener of the Gold Cup, this performance was still not her strongest. Her point was off of a PK and the best chance she had for an in-play goal went way wide. Later in the tournament, she made the call to pass off a pivotal PK against Columbia to…
