Alex Morgan left off U.S. Olympics roster as Emma Hayes picks 'another direction'

Emma Hayes has made her final decision and selected 18 players to represent the U.S. women's national team at the Paris Olympics this summer.

Alex Morgan will not be one of them.

Hayes called up five forwards in Crystal Dunn, Trinity Rodman, Jaedyn Shaw, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson, leaving off the veteran striker who has played in every major tournament for the national team since the 2011 World Cup.

"First off, I want to talk about what an amazing player and human Alex Morgan has been," Hayes told reporters via Zoom shortly after the roster was released on Wednesday. "I've only had one opportunity to work with her in the last camp and I saw firsthand not just her qualities, but her professionalism and her record speaks for itself.

"Second of all, it's not easy making a decision. There's only 16 outfield players and two goalkeepers on a roster of 18, so it was a tough decision, of course — especially considering Alex's history and record with this team. But I felt that I wanted to go in another direction and selected other players." 

The 34-year-old Morgan, who has 224 caps and 123 goals, is a two-time World Cup winner and has played in three Olympics. Had she made it, Morgan would have been the last remaining player from the 2012 gold medal-winning team — the USWNT has not won gold since then. She's still the most recognizable player in the squad and always gets the loudest cheers during player introductions at games.

Morgan's inclusion has been one of the most debated topics, dating back to at least last summer's FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand after she didn't score a goal. But anytime it felt like she was falling out of favor with the team, she dug in and proved herself. Like when she replaced an injured Mia Fishel on the Gold Cup roster the day before the tournament began and ended up starting four of six matches, and then both of the SheBelieves Cup games.

She has an undeniable presence on the field as a true No. 9, and Hayes praised Morgan's leadership during the last camp earlier this month. But with so many young and versatile forwards nipping at her heels, this was a tough decision Hayes had to make. 

"I think the biggest factor is there's 16 outfield players to play a lot of games, arguably, I hope, over a 17-day period," Hayes said. "So having a roster that could adapt is essential. You have a tight turnaround between games, so of course having players on the roster that could play more than one position mattered with squad depth. 

"But I also think there are players on the roster in the forward areas performing well and the decision to take those players was one that we certainly deliberated over. But I think it's a balanced roster. I've considered all the factors that we're gonna need throughout the Olympics and one that I'm really happy with."

This will be a massive opportunity for Hayes, coaching in her first major tournament as the USWNT's head coach. In her selection, she included eight players from the 2021 Olympics team, 10 from last summer's World Cup squad, as well as four who have never represented the U.S. in a major tournament.

Without Morgan on the team, there are only four players with 100 caps or more: captain Lindsey Horan leads the group with 148, Dunn has 147, Alyssa Naeher has 104 and Rose Lavelle has 100. 

But this makes sense given the transition the team is going through with Hayes ushering in a youth movement. This roster has an average age of 26.8 and 58 caps per player. The average age of the 2021 group that went to Tokyo was 30.8 years old and averaged 111 caps.

"The realities are, it's going to take a lot of work for us to get to that top level again," Hayes said, making reference to the program's successful history at the Olympics. The USWNT has won four gold medals (Atlanta in 1996, Athens in 2004, Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012), one silver (Sydney in 2000) and a bronze (Tokyo in 2021). 

"I think looking through this sort of cap accumulation of the team, there's been a lack of development of putting some of the less experienced players in positions where they can develop that experience. And I think it's important that we have to do that to take the next step. So I'm not looking backwards. I think we have to look forward with a group of players that have put that World Cup behind them, and we're very much looking forward to building on the work post-World Cup.

"This is an opportunity for us to show that those learnings will take us much further than it did last time. But there is no guarantee in anything in life."

Another selection that made headlines was Korbin Albert earning a spot on her first senior level world championship roster. Earlier this year, the 20-year-old midfielder faced a wave of criticism after she made anti-LGBTQ+ posts on social media. She continued to be called into USWNT camps after that, and Hayes gave a lengthy response as to what went into her decision-making process.

She said that Albert making the team was based on merit in terms of what she can do in the midfield and the fact that she can play a lot of games back-to-back, as she demonstrated during the Gold Cup. Hayes likes that Albert can play multiple positions, which is a key theme throughout this small roster. 

But when it comes to Albert's previous social media activity, Hayes explained there's "been a lot of work that's been going on in the background" with the young player.

"I think it's really important that everybody in this team understands the importance of not just being tolerant and respectful and understanding the things that are going to matter to us all," Hayes said. "Korbin has had to learn and my experiences with her has been someone who is a young person who has understood fully the implications of social media activity. 

"The conversations we have had has been to talk about the importance of what we have to be mindful of and how we're all part of an environment that's one that appreciates and understands the damage that can do."

Hayes added that Albert has been "a delight to coach" and that she's had a "really, really tough time" and struggled with the criticism she's endured. She can hear fans booing her during games and it's affected her performance.

"But I can say firsthand that having spent limited time with Korbin, she really is a lovely person and someone who really values the most important things, and she's spending time working on herself, as we all do," Hayes said. "And I look forward to building on that with her and I want everybody to know that."

Lily Yohannes, who earned her first cap and scored her first goal for the senior national team earlier this month, was missing from the roster. Hayes said Yohannes, who just turned 17, was considered for the team, but she still hasn't decided whether she wants to play for the U.S. or for the Netherlands.

"I really do hope that she will be part of our future," Hayes said. "But at this moment, she wasn't ready to make that decision and I fully support it."

Additionally, Hayes named four alternate players who will travel to France and train with the team in goalkeeper Jane Campbell, midfielders Hal Hershfelt and Croix Bethune, and forward Lynn Williams, who recently became the NWSL's all-time leading scorer. Hershfelt and Bethune were called into their first USWNT camp in June, while Campbell and Williams have been to the Olympics before.

Hayes also invited forward Alyssa Thompson and defenders Kate Wiesner and Emily Sams to train with the team during training camp in New Jersey leading up to the friendly against Mexico.

The USWNT will play two sendoff matches against Mexico on July 8 in New Jersey, and against Costa Rica on July 16 in Washington, D.C. before traveling to France. The Americans were drawn into Group B where they will play Zambia (July 25), Germany (July 28) and Australia (July 31).

2024 U.S. Olympic Women's Soccer Team Roster by Position (Caps/Goals):

GOALKEEPERS (2): Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage; 19), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 104)

DEFENDERS (6): Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 58/3), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG; 49/1), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC; 32/0), Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit; 49/0), Jenna Nighswonger (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 9/2), Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 91/2)

MIDFIELDERS (5): Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA; 11/0), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 17/1), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 148/35), Rose Lavelle (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 100/24), Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC, ENG; 19/8)

FORWARDS (5): Crystal Dunn (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 147/25), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 38/7), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC; 14/7), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC; 48/19), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars; 92/34)

Alternates: Goalkeeper Jane Campbell, midfielder Hal Hershfelt, midfielder Croix Bethune and forward Lynn Williams.

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.