Is Alex Morgan at the 2024 Paris Olympics? Why the USWNT star striker was left off the roster

Over the course of its existence, the United States women’s national soccer team has had a number of iconic players suit up in their country’s colors.

Mia Hamm inspired a generation of young girls to take up the sport while becoming the defining player of her generation. Brandi Chastain holding on to her jersey with her fists clenched in celebration after scoring the game-winning penalty kick in the 1999 Women’s World Cup final is one of the most famous images of an American athlete in any sport and at any level. Abby Wambach rewrote the USWNT record book during her career from 2001-15, scoring an American-record 184 international goals.

Firmly entrenched in that group of exalted individuals is Alex Morgan .

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The American striker has been a pillar of the USWNT going back to her international debut on March 31, 2010 against Mexico in Sandy, Utah. She has competed for the Americans in four Women’s World Cups and three Summer Olympics, helping her team win two of the former and one of the latter. Known throughout her career for her speed and athleticism, she’s among the top 10 players in USWNT history in goals, assists and multi-goal games. She’s a four-time Concacaf Player of the Year and a three-time finalist for FIFA World Player of the Year.

Most of all, she and several of her teammates became symbols whose appeal transcended beyond sport and whose on-field triumphs earned themselves and their country international soccer glory.

Morgan’s lengthy resume and years in the spotlight have made her a figure of interest heading into the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris , where the USWNT will look to earn its first gold medal since 2012. But will Morgan be there?

Here’s what you need to know about Morgan’s participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics, and where the USWNT stands heading into the famed international competition:

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Is Alex Morgan at the 2024 Paris Olympics?

Morgan was not among the 18 players selected for the USWNT roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Morgan not only didn not make the roster, but also was not named as one of the alternates who could take a spot on the team should someone ahead of them get injured.

Her exclusion comes at a time of transition for the broader USWNT program. The Americans head into the Olympics not nly with a new manager in Emma Hayes, but also several of the figures most closely associated with the team in its Women’s World Cup and Olympic appearances over the past decade are no longer on the roster.

But unlike someone like Megan Rapinoe, who retired last year, Morgan is still an active player, making the USWNT’s decision that much more notable.

“Today, I’m disappointed about not having the opportunity to represent our country on the Olympic stage,” Morgan wrote in a post on social media last month when the roster was finalized. “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 and cheering them on alongside the rest of our country.”

Why is Alex Morgan not on the USWNT in the 2024 Paris Olympics?

While expressing her admiration for Morgan, whose record she said “speaks for itself,” Hayes offered some insight into Morgan’s exclusion shortly after the roster was released.

“It was not easy making a decision,” Hayes said to reporters on June 26 . “There are 16 outfield players and two goalkeepers on a roster of 18. It was a tough decision, especially considering Alex’s record and history with this team. I felt wanted to go in another direction and selected other players.”

For as much as Morgan had contributed to the USWNT over the years, her production has slipped as she entered her mid-30s. That was perhaps most evident during the 2023 Women’s World Cup, when she failed to score a goal for an offensively challenged American team that was eliminated in the Round of 16 while scoring one or fewer goals as a team in three of its four games.

As Morgan has aged, the USWNT has gotten noticeably younger in recent years, with standouts like Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman taking on larger roles at striker.

Even before Hayes’ decision, Morgan had found herself on the periphery of the USWNT roster, having initially been left off for the CONCACAF W Gold Cup in February and March only to make her way back on to it following an injury to Mia Fishel. Once there, she reassumed her role as a starting striker and finished with two goals in six games as the Americans won the tournament.

That made her omission for Paris all the more newsworthy, but for Hayes — whose system requires more versatility from strikers than playing philosophies employed by previous USWNT coaches did — there simply wasn’t room on a roster as she sought to get younger players more experience in a major international competition.

“The biggest factor is 16 outfield players,” Hayes said . “To play a lot of games, arguably, I hope over a 17-day period, having a roster that could adapt is essential. Have tight turnaround between games. Having players on the roster that could play more than one position mattered with squad depth. I also think the players on the roster, in the forward areas, that are performing well. The decision to take those players was one that we certainly deliberated over.”

Alex Morgan age

Born on July 2, 1989, Morgan is 35 years old.

Alex Morgan stats

Morgan has 224 career international caps, the ninth-most for a player in USWNT history. During that time, she has scored 123 goals, the fifth-most in USWNT history.

Along with Hamm, she is only one of two USWNT players to ever have 20 goals and 20 assists in one year.

USWNT 2024 Paris Olympics roster

While Morgan is not on the roster, several familiar names are. The group includes several promising young stars either domestically in the National Women’s Soccer League or internationally in top outfits like England’s Women’s Super League or France’s Première Ligue.

Here’s a look at the USWNT roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics, with players divided up by position and listed alphabetically, along with their club teams and international caps:

Goalkeepers

• Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage; 19)
• Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 104)

Defenders

• Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 58)
• Emily Fox (Arsenal FC; 49)
• Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC; 32)
• Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit; 49)
• Jenna Nighswonger (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 9)
• Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 91)

Midfielders

• Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain; 11)
• Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 17)
• Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon; 148)
• Rose Lavelle (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 100)
• Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC; 19)

Strikers

• Crystal Dunn (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 147)
• Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 38)
• Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC; 14)
• Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC; 48)
• Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars; 92)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Alex Morgan at the 2024 Paris Olympics? Why the USWNT star striker was left off the roster