Inspirational Alex Morgan leads the line for USWNT in FIFA Women’s World Cup title defence

Morgan is one of the three players – the others being Kelly O’Hara and Megan Rapinoe – set to play their fourth World Cup for the United States Women’s National Team.

Alex Morgan has 121 goals for the USWNT. | Photo Credit: AP

Alex Morgan is many things – a two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup winner (2015,19), an Olympic gold medallist (2012) and the fifth-highest goal scorer for the United States Women’s National team (USWNT), with 121 goals.

In 2011, she was the youngest player on the USWNT World Cup roster.

Twelve years later, she is one of the three players – Kelly O’Hara and Megan Rapinoe being the other two – set to play their fourth World Cup for the red-and-white stars, in Australia and New Zealand.

Morgan is hoping to inspire the next generation here and be what Abby Wambach was to her, over a decade ago.

“Going into each of the last three and now the fourth World Cup is incredibly special in its own way. Definitely, my leadership on this team has changed, based on my experience and my comfort level in this environment and in the big moments like this World Cup,” Morgan told reporters in a press interaction.

Of the three players, Morgan has had the most experience, netting nine goals in 18 appearances.

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In a roster that has players aged 18 (Alyssa Thomson) to 38 (Megan Rapinoe) before the start of the tournament, the forward feels that the team chemistry will prove to be crucial and that the seniors will shoulder the responsibility to steer the team forward.

“I’m just hoping to make the biggest impact for the team on and off the field. I want to be on the field as long as possible but also want to be able to show the younger players – who have not been to a major tournament – what to expect, where the pressure is going to come from, why we need to stick together, really have this mentality to make it to August 20 and lifting the trophy in the end,” Morgan said.

“Having been able to do that a couple of times, I want to be able to share that and I have talked to the other experienced players, Rapinoe being one of them, about how we rally them through.”

A new dawn for Women’s Soccer

Morgan has been one of the leading advocates of equal pay for men’s and women’s soccer, alongside Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, Carli Lloyd and Hope Solo.

A complaint launched by the five, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming wage discrimination in 2016 finally saw success, six years later.

“Our fight for equal pay brought attention to where the sport is right now and where it needs to be and how we can get there,” Morgan said.

In May 2022, it was decided that both the men’s and women’s soccer teams would be given equal pay for friendlies as well as competitive tournaments, including the World Cup.

“Personally we are in a very different space, as compared to the 2019 World Cup – having achieved equal pay, equal prize money, equal working conditions but it’s not just that. There are a lot of teams still fighting for it,” Morgan said.

“Look at Spain and there are some players, who should absolutely be in this World Cup, but are not going due to the inequalities in their team, standing up for themselves and (for) the future generations in the sport.”

The FIFA World Cup 2023 will be the first edition of the tournament to have 32 teams, allowing more countries to participate. The prize money has also undergone a significant raise, from USD 30 million to USD 110 million.

“Soccer is the most played sport in the world. For so many decades, women were not allowed to play soccer in so many countries. So, we have a lot of catching up to do and I think that’s happening at such an accelerated rate,” Morgan said.

“I think this World Cup will be the most watched, the most attended (tournament). It’s going to bring in the highest revenue we have ever seen and I think you’re starting to see FIFA respects that and values women’s soccer more than what we’ve seen before.”

‘ A target on our back’

The United States is the most successful team in the FIFA Women’s World Cup having won it four times in the seven editions so far. Four years ago, it also became the first team to successfully defend its crown, beating the Netherlands 2-0 in the final.

Netherlands is drawn in the same group as the US in this World Cup, with Vietnam and Portugal being the other members of the group. Are Morgan and the girls the favourites to win it again?

“That’s for you to decide,” laughed the forward, “I think it’s tough for us to put even more of a target on our backs to say whether we are the favourites or not. At the end of the day, we already have a target on our back – coming in as the reigning World Cup champs.”

Vlatko Andonovski’s side will open the tournament against Vietnam on July 22 and then play the Netherlands five days later, before locking horns with Portugal on August 1.

With USWNT captain Sauerbrunn missing out with injury, it will be interesting to see how the synergy of experience and young blood can inspire the team to succeed.

“There are some teams who have done incredibly well in the last four years but we are going to be optimistic with our chances, with this roster,” Morgan said.

“I know she’ll (Becky Sauerbrunn) be our biggest supporter as we go to the World Cup and try and bring the trophy home like the last few times.”