Will Alex Morgan re-join USWNT for Olympics?: 'Nobody is out of the mix'
The United States women's national team roster is set for the inaugural CONCACAF Gold Cup, which will be the first tournament the squad has played in since a disappointing performance at the World Cup last summer.
Interim head coach Twila Kilgore was only able to call up 23 players, including familiar faces like captain Lindsey Horan, midfielder Rose Lavelle, NWSL Defender of the Year and U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year Naomi Girma, and star forwards Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith. Veterans like goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and left back Crystal Dunn return after not being part of the last training camp in December.
And then there's one glaring omission: Alex Morgan, who didn't make the December roster, isn't on this one either.
What does that mean in terms of the star forward playing in the Paris Olympics this summer?
"Nobody is out of the mix," Kilgore said Wednesday. That applies to Morgan, Becky Sauerbrunn and any other player who is part of the program but didn't get called up, Kilgore explained.
"We want to get it right and everybody is still involved."
This is a tricky time as the generational shift within the USWNT unfolds. Older players are retiring or not being invited into training camps while younger players are earning their first caps and establishing themselves in the national team environment. Of course, U.S. Soccer also hired Emma Hayes as the new head coach in November, though she will not join full time until her season with Chelsea is over in May. Kilgore is running the day-to-day until then.
Kilgore, who once again collaborated with Hayes to create this roster, was only able to call in 23 players. Teams can only bring 18 players to the Olympics, so it's impossible to include everybody.
"This is the group we feel is the right group for now and who we need to look at in this tournament," Kilgore said.
Pressed further on Morgan, who will now miss her second straight camp, Kilgore wouldn't get into specifics.
"We recognize there's mulitiple players that aren't gonna be in the environment that we are still looking at, but are still very much so in the mix," Kilgore said.
The forward line is extra crowded these days, especially with Mia Fishel and Jaeydn Shaw — who earned their first caps and scored their first goals late last year — making their cases for playing time. Smith and Rodman are expected starters, and this roster doesn't even include Alyssa Thompson, who Kilgore said has a minor back injury and wasn't able to come in. Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario are also making their way back to being 100% healthy and fit and could very well be options for the Olympics.
While Morgan will remain a story line, there's a lot of budding talent to keep an eye on. After impressive performances during the December camp, youngsters Fishel, Shaw, Olivia Moultrie, Jenna Nighswonger and Korbin Albert were called up and figure to play important roles in the Gold Cup.
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One of the most interesting tidbits about this training camp actually won't take place during the tournament. Three players who won't officially be part of the roster during the Gold Cup were invited to practice with the team before the games begin, including Swanson.
This will be Swanson's first time back with the squad since tearing her patellar tendon last April, which forced her to miss the World Cup. Swanson, who led the USWNT in scoring in 2023 with seven goals despite playing in just six matches, recently said on "The Women's Game" podcast that her knee is "feeling good."
"I expect that Mal will come in and be Mal," Kilgore said. "We're thrilled to have her back in the camp environment. We know that anything that Mal is doing, she brings a really high level of professionalism and a high level of execution.
"We believe she's absolutely ready for the step and she's a really important leader in this team."
Kilgore said that Swanson has stayed connected and involved with the team in various ways while recovering — which includes Swanson saying recently that she has met with Hayes — and that her practicing with the squad ahead of the Gold Cup is "the next natural progression."
The Gold Cup begins Feb. 17 and the final is set for March 10. The USWNT is in Group A and begins with three matches in Los Angeles: Feb. 20 vs. either Guyana or Dominican Republic, Feb. 23 vs. Argentina and Feb. 26 vs. Mexico. The round-robin group stage will be followed by the knockout round with the quarterfinals in LA, followed by the semifinals and final in San Diego.
This is an important year for the USWNT with the Paris Olympics beginning in July and the team is still in a state of limbo with Hayes not on the ground yet.
"This tournament is a really great opportunity for us," Kilgore said. "Not every federation is going to have the opportunity to be in a long-haul tournament leading up to the Olympics."
The Gold Cup mirrors the Olympic cadence with the USWNT facing different opponents with short turnarounds (vs. a friendly when the squad often faces the same team twice). Goal differential will matter, cautions will accumulate, and this is a chance for the new-look U.S. to get into a rhythm and peak at the right time, something it was unable to do at the World Cup.
"These things are difficult," Kilgore said. "These are all on the field things that have to be managed. Part of the Olympic selection is knowing how players will behave and what their response will be under certain stressors. And this is just a great opportunity for that.
"We know that in major tournaments, two things really come out: who you are, and what your preparation has been like, and then a third thing is how you deal with that emotionally. When we get to the Olympics, we know that we want the right things to come out and this is just a great opportunity to make small course corrections along the way that ensure a greater likelihood of that."
USWNT Gold Cup roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
DEFENDERS (8): Alana Cook (Seattle Reign FC), Abby Dahlkemper (San Diego Wave FC), Crystal Dunn (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC), Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit), Jenna Nighswonger (NY/NJ Gotham FC)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA), Rose Lavelle (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC), Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC)
FORWARDS (6): Mia Fishel (Chelsea FC, ENG), Midge Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC), Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham FC)
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.
