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Welcome to the new era of the U.S. women’s national team welcome,to,the,new,era,of,the,u,s,women,s,national,team,sbnation,com,front-page,soccer,united-states-womens-national-team,all-womens-sports,womens-soccer,uswnt-coverage

On: July 1, 2024 By: admin

In the aftermath of the release of the U.S. women’s national team Olympic roster, it’s clear a new era has arrived. What it’s full of is a roster that features youth and versatility at the forefront.

Ahead of the planning and preparation for the Summer Games, let’s take a look at notable names on the list, the ones who missed out and the one player who’s addition might be an overcast on the rest.

Notable misses: Alex Morgan

For the first time in 13 years (and the irony of it being 13 is strong) the U.S. women’s national team roster for a major tournament does not have the name Alex Morgan listed on it. We all know Morgan’s name for one reason or another, so before we dive into the present, we have to look back.

Alex Morgan was a member of the 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023 women’s World Cup rosters, and the 2012, 2016, and 2021 Olympic rosters. Morgan has 224 appearances with the senior national team under her belt with 123 goals and 53 assists. For those of you who like to do the math, Morgan has either scored or assisted a goal in 79% of her senior caps. She is the 13th player in USWNT history to reach 200 caps and is fifth on the all-time scoring list. Needless to say, her trophy case is full, but let’s run through her accolades anyways:

Three World Cup trophies
One World Cup silver medal
One Olympic gold medal
One Olympic bronze medal
World Cup silver boot
NWSL golden boot
US Soccer’s Female Athlete of the Year award (2012 & 2018)
Four-time CONCACAF Player of the Year (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018)
Five-time FIFA Women’s World 11 selection (2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022)

“Her record speaks for itself,” said new USWNT head coach Emma Hayes in the press conference to announce the 2024 Olympic roster. Alex Morgan is, arguably, one of the best to play her position.

Even greater than her accomplishments on paper are those that are intangible. Her leadership, her class, and her determination to fight for equal pay for the US Women’s National Team are qualities that, quite simply, cannot be replicated.

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

Alex Morgan has made a lasting impact on the USWNT, and her legacy will never be forgotten. Even in this painful moment, with her statement, Morgan displayed ultimate class and remained an exceptional teammate.

The Olympic schedule is grueling. Each team will play a game every three days — that’s only two days rest in between — and because of that all 18 players on the Olympic roster are expected to carry a heavy load. In comparison, World Cup rosters are 23-players deep and teams have more than two days of recovery between games.

While this could seem like the end of the road for Alex Morgan’s senior national team career, it’s impossible to ever fully rule out a competitor like Morgan. We do know one thing: she’ll be watching this summer’s Olympic games on TV with the rest of us.

Notable Makes: Crystal Dunn, Casey Krueger, Korbin Albert

Crystal Dunn being named to the US Women’s National Team roster for a major tournament is something that the forward has accomplished four times already, most recently for the 2023 World Cup. However, she hasn’t seen her name listed under the FORWARDS category for a major tournament since 2016.

Dunn is a goalscorer and plays forward for her NWSL club, Gotham FC, but has been playing outside-back for the USWNT since 2019. Upon taking over at the helm of the USWNT, Emma Hayes immediately brought Dunn into camp as a forward.

Dunn provides a veteran presence, leadership, and versatility as a player that can play forward, midfield, or defense.

Casey Krueger is a consistent standout defender in the NWSL every year, and has seen herself called into many USWNT camps, but only made one major tournament roster. Krueger was listed as an alternate for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, but when rosters expanded due to COVID-19, she joined the squad as a rostered player. Krueger is a fan-favorite, as a player that is nothing but consistent on the field and is constantly overlooked at the National Team level.

Korbin Albert is a notable make, but for all of the wrong reasons.

In March of this year, Albert found herself at the center of controversy, receiving criticism from not only USWNT fans, but former USWNT players including Megan Rapinoe. Fans found anti-LGBTQ videos that Albert posted to her personal TikTok, and also found her having liked a post hoping for pain to be inflicted on former USWNT star Megan Rapinoe

Korbin Albert plays her club soccer at PSG and was a breakout star in the midfield for the team during the inaugural Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup earlier this year. Immediately following the tournament, her hateful social media activity surfaced.

Fans turned on her, and it caused enough stir to even warrant a response from Rapinoe.

“To the people who want to hide behind ‘my beliefs’ I would just ask one question, are you making any type of space safer, more inclusive, more whole, any semblance of better, bringing the best out of anyone?… because if you aren’t, all you believe in is hate. And kids are literally killing themselves because of this hate. Wake TF up!”

Shortly after, Albert posted an apology on her Instagram stories.

Captain Lindsey Horan and Alex Morgan spoke to the media in a press-conference, and expressed their disappointment, but stated that the matter was being handled internally. Since then, fans have been calling for more transparency into how the matter was handled. Albert’s play has suffered, and she has been audibly boo-ed at every USWNT match she has appeared in since.

Many were speculating that Albert may not make the 2024 Olympic roster because of her actions, but without knowledge of how the matter was being handled internally, fans were in the dark.

“There’s no denying that there’s been a lot of work that’s going on in the background,” Hayes said of Albert, adding that Albert is young, learning from her experiences, and has had a tough time in reference to the backlash and boos she has received from fans.

“She’s spending time working on herself,” continued Hayes, “and I want the fans to really embrace Korbin because I do think she’s a tremendous human being.”

The issue itself is much larger than just Korbin Albert, though, and her name being listed on this roster shows a changing of the guards in more ways than one.

The USWNT has consistently been a safe space for LGBTQ fans, and players on the team have always made it that way. A new era of young talent brings fears around perhaps a new identity of the USWNT, and questions about if it can remain the same safe space that it has always been.

Albert’s inclusion in the roster coupled with Hayes’ comments around it is drawing a cloud of negativity that is, in some ways, close to overshadowing the positivity that has come with the announcement of this young, dynamic new era. How, if any it impacts the team internally is a wait and see.

Alex Morgan didn’t make the U.S. Olympic women’s soccer roster. Here’s why alex,morgan,didn,t,make,the,u,s,olympic,women,s,soccer,roster,here,s,why,sbnation,com,front-page,soccer,united-states-womens-national-team,all-womens-sports,womens-soccer,uswnt-coverage

On: June 26, 2024 By: admin

Alex Morgan will not represent the United States in a major international competition for the first time in nearly 20 years.

When the U.S. women’s national team heads to France later this month, Morgan, one of the best to wear the uniform, will not be on the plane as the team looks to chase gold at the upcoming Summer Games, after being left off women’s coach Emma Hayes’ 18-person roster.

Morgan who earned her first entry for the senior women’s roster in 2010, has been in 224 appearances for her country with 123 goals — and most notably would’ve been the only player on Hayes’ current roster with an Olympic gold medal.

On Wednesday, Morgan took to X, formerly known as Twitter to express her dismay but noted that she’s more than prepared to cheer on the squad from abroad.

“Today, I’m disappointed about not having the opportunity to represent our country on the Olympic stage,” Morgan wrote. “This will always be a tournament that is close to my heart and I take immense pride anytime I put on the crest. In less than a month, I look forward to supporting this team alongside the rest of our country.”

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

Morgan is one of the most prolific goalscorers in U.S. Soccer history — men or women — and was a part of the squad that captured a fourth gold medal at the 2012 Summer Games in London.

As for Hayes, she was matter-of-fact in her decision to leave Morgan off the Olympic roster, citing the number of players allowed on an Olympic roster (teams can carry just 16 field players and two goalkeepers) and her desire to “go in another direction.

“Her record speaks for itself,” Hayes said of Morgan during a virtual press conference on Wednesday. “But I wanted to go in another direction and select other players.”

The U.S. attacking corps features an all-NWSL collective who have found success this year for club and country. Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Crystal Dunn (Gotham FC), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars), Jaedyn Shaw, Morgan’s teammate on the San Diego Wave and most notably Sophia Smith, the latter who many consider next up in a long line of star USWNT forwards over the years.

“I think the biggest factor is there are 16 outfield players to play a lot of games … over a 17-day period,” said Hayes. “But I also think, you know, there are players on the roster in the forward areas that are performing well, and, you know, the decision to take those players was one that we certainly deliberated over.”

Hayes who made her coaching debut on June 1, has had just two games — both against the same competition in South Korea to prepare for the Games and evaluate a roster she feels “is balanced.”

Fans will get a first look at the Olympic roster later this month in a pair of tune-up games against Mexico on July 13 (3:30 p.m. ET, TNT), and Costa Rica on June 16 (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT) before opening group play in the Olympics on July 25 against Zambia in Nice, France (3 p.m. ET, USA Network).

“Having a roster that could adapt is essential [as] you have a tight turnaround between games,” said Hayes. “Having players on the roster that could play more than one position mattered with squad depth. I’ve considered all the factors that we’re going to need throughout the Olympics and I think it’s a balanced roster; one that I’m really happy with.”

U.S. women’s coach Emma Hayes is saying all the right things. Here’s a few of the best so far u,s,women,s,coach,emma,hayes,is,saying,all,the,right,things,here,s,a,few,of,the,best,so,far,sbnation,com,front-page,soccer,united-states-womens-national-team,soccer-sg,all-womens-sports,womens-soccer,usmnt-coverage

On: June 17, 2024 By: admin

Many believe Emma Hayes has what it takes to return the U.S. women’s national team to the No. 1 status in the world it coveted for decades.

Over the last few years, the prominence of the U.S. women’s team has dropped considerably as key players have retired from the world stage and young newcomers are asked to hold the line.

Despite wins in a pair of recent matches, the U.S. dropped to No. 5 in the latest FIFA women’s world rankings. And while it may not appear as though being the fifth best team in the world is that big of a scare, anyone who knows the dominance of the States for the last 40 years as the preeminent team to beat knows that the latest designation certainly came as a surprise.

For the first time, fans got an insider’s look at the philosophy of Hayes through the latest version of Inside the Crest, U.S. Soccer’s mini-documentary series which chronicles the exploits of both the men’s and women’s programs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries

Usually, these are not much more than fluff for the program, but the latest offered a direct look at Hayes and a player pool eager to make her roster in advance of the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.

Hayes had several poignant comments to the group but these were the Top 5 quotables from Hayes to the team ahead of their back-to-back tune-up games against Korea Republic.

After the Olympic squad is selected, the group will have two tune up games in July. The first against rival Mexico on July 13 (3:30 p.m. ET, TNT, NBC Universo) and Costa Rica on July 16 (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT, NBC Universo).

— Emma Hayes to the group ahead of their first game, a 4-0 win against Korea Republic. This is now a group that is 7-1-2 overall in 2024, scoring 26 goals and allowing just seven.

Hayes was adamant in a team meeting that she’s not looking to change much but elevate with the group she’s got. And, right now even with the loss of players like Megan Rapinoe, Julie Ertz and others due to retiring from international duty, Hayes feels she can work what she’s got into one of the world’s best.

This was great as it added a bit of her philosophy on coaching and style and what she expects out of every player. There’s also an acknowledgment off the bat that she and her staff know that it comes down to their preparation as much as the execution. No scapegoating here.

Took this to mean she doesn’t really care about the pressures from the federation. They hired her to do a job and gave her some pretty moldable tools to do it, so what is there to complain about? Results are all that matter and so far, she’s off to a good start.

This quote says it all. Pressure’s off when it comes to worrying about playing for your country. You’re already here. Do your job and enjoy the ride.