OLYMPIC GAMES | SOCCER
Why isn’t Alex Morgan playing for USA women’s soccer team against Zambia in the 2024 Olympic Games?
The USWNT start their Olympic campaign in Group A in Nice on Thursday, but Morgan hasn’t made the trip to France.
Team USA’s women’s soccer team gets underway in the 2024 Olympic Games on Thursday, July 25 against Zambia in Nice, which should be their easiest Group A fixture on paper. While head coach Emma Hayes has selected a number of experienced players, including goalkeeper Alyssa Neher, midfielder Lindsey Horan and attacker Crystal Dunn, arguably the biggest-name American star, Alex Morgan, won’t be playing in Paris.
Is the women’s Olympic soccer tournament also for under-23s?
The women’s Olympic soccer tournament differs significantly from the men’s in terms of player eligibility.
According to 2024 Olympic regulations for the men’s tournament, each national team can select a maximum of three players over the age of 23, while the rest of the 18-man squad (plus four reserves) must consist of players born on or after January 1, 2001.
As a result, the likes of Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams aren’t part of the Team USA roster, having taken part in the 2024 Copa América earlier this summer.
Hayes instigates USWNT generational change
However, there are no such restrictions for the women’s tournament, as the Olympics aren’t held in the same year as other major international tournaments. That means Hayes, in theory, had the chance to pick as strong an 18-player squad as she wanted.
Even so, Morgan hasn’t been selected. The 34-year-old appears to be the most high-profile victim of the USWNT going through a generational change following their 2023 Women’s World Cup elimination in the round of 16, their worst ever performance in the tournament.
33-year-old defender Casey Krueger is the oldest outfield player selected by Hayes, with 10 of the 18 members of the squad aged 26 and under.
After opening their 2024 Olympic Games campaign against Zambia, the USWNT will follow up with matches against Germany and Australia, who are expected to offer a stiffer challenge.
The United States has won the gold medal in four of the seven previous women’s Olympic soccer tournaments but failed to do so in the last two, reaching the quarterfinals in 2016 and claiming a bronze medal in 2021.