By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer
MONTERREY, Mexico — As the U.S. national team has focused on developing young talent in anticipation of next summer’s World Cup, veteran forward Alex Morgan has assumed a more vocal role.
Morgan, 33, is now one of the more senior members of the team, which has brought in budding players like fellow forwards Sophia Smith, Mallory Pugh, and Trinity Rodman since the Tokyo Olympics.
“The younger players can hold their own. They’ve been doing amazing. I think the one thing that I would say I definitely have increased this tournament is vocally on the field, like helping players with positioning, set pieces, the things that this team takes pride in, the mentality, kind of just helping push players along a little bit,” she said.
Morgan and the defending World Cup champions are in Mexico preparing for a showdown with rival Canada on Monday night in the title match of the CONCACAF W Championship.
The United States and Canada have already qualified for next summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand as top-four finishers in this tournament. But the winner of the championship match also earns one of the region’s berths at the 2024 Olympics in France.
Morgan is not slowing down by any means, as evidenced by her fantastic club season so far. The Diamond Bar High product is back home in California, in her first season playing for the expansion San Diego Wave, and currently leads the National Women’s Soccer League with 11 goals in just 10 games.
At the W Championship, Morgan scored a pair of goals against Haiti in the group stage, for her 29th career multi-goal game. She has scored 21 goals in 22 qualification matches with the United States, third-most in team history. Overall, she has 117 goals and 47 assists in 195 career games.
“Alex has World Cup medals, Olympic medals. It’s something that she’s very, very good at, obviously, winning,” current U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “But also passing on the experience to some of the players that have never been in a situation like this, competing for first place and grinding out a win, or being able to win big tournaments.”
Morgan said the team is gaining momentum and doing a better job of reading the field after incorporating the new faces on the team and adopting Andonovski’s tactical approach, which is tailored to each opponent.
“We also do need to understand, though, what the coach has given us,” Morgan said. “We all have to buy in, we can’t have one or two players not doing what they’re supposed to do because that ruins the whole flow of the game if we’re going to play in certain structures. I think that’s important to know – it’s playing free but knowing your role, and that’s going to change from game to game.”
Morgan is easily one of the most recognizable and popular players on the team. In Mexico, she has been greeted with loud cheers. Among her admirers was a 2-year-old named Luca, whose mom posted a video of the toddler hollering her name.
Morgan saw the video and sent Luca an autographed jersey. Then Luca met his favorite player following the match against Haiti.
But among those touching moments there remains a job to do. Canada has increasingly challenged the United States on the international stage.
Canada won the gold medal at the Tokyo Games, beating Sweden on penalties in the final after edging the world’s top-ranked U.S. team, 1-0, in the semifinals. The United States won the bronze medal, which afterward the U.S. recognized was an honor while still acknowledging that it didn’t meet the team’s standards.
“I mean, the rivalry has definitely heated up the last couple of years. So it will be a great game. But it’s really not about looking back, it’s about looking forward,” Morgan said. “At the same time, look at this squad, there’s a lot of girls that weren’t even there last year. So, this will be an opportunity for us to punch our ticket to the Olympics and prove to ourselves and the world why we have the No. 1 ranking.”
CANADA PREPS FOR U.S. AMID FEDERATION CONCERNS
The Canadian team is keeping a wary eye on concerns about its federation back home while focusing on a showdown with the United States.
An investigation this week by The Sports Network detailed a controversial agreement between Canada Soccer and Canada Soccer Business, which oversees the federation’s media rights and sponsorship deals as both the men’s and women’s teams seek better and more equitable pay.
Earlier this week, the Canadian senior national teams put out a statement about the media outlet’s revelations and asked for a full investigation by the agency that governs sport in Canada.
“This must include a closer look at the motivations of those who are said to have entered into this agreement without following basic standards of proper governance, and why the agreement was allowed to remain in place if concerns were expressed by board members,” the statement said. “Moving forward, we call for the members of Canada’s national teams to be properly consulted in key Canada Soccer decisions impacting the national teams.”
Midfielder Quinn said the players were still digesting the TSN article.
“It’s been a tough week for us, but obviously we have an important match ahead,” Quinn said “That’s going to be the focus for us moving forward.”
Concerns about Canada Soccer’s relationship with CSB came to light last month when the Canadian men’s team refused to play in a friendly game against Panama over strained labor negotiations.
One of the sticking points was the $10 million in FIFA bonus money the men’s team earned by qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. Canada’s national teams believe they are entitled to a share of the bonus.
The men’s team has asked for 40% of World Cup prize money, a friends and family travel package, and “equitable structure with our women’s national team that shares the same player match fees, percentage of prize money earned at our respective FIFA World Cups.”
Canada Soccer calls those demands untenable. The proposed distribution of World Cup prize money was “not financially viable once a consideration of the women’s national team portion was accounted.”
“It is critically important to reiterate and be abundantly clear: fairness and pay equity is at the heart of our ongoing negotiations and we are committed to finding a resolution that meets both of those values,” Canada Soccer said in its statement.
The players have also called for transparency concerning the agreement between the federation and CSB, which uses revenue from the deals it strikes to help fund Canada’s eight-team professional soccer league.
Team captain Christine Sinclair, who released the joint statement by the national teams, reiterated that for the moment the team must be focused on the tournament.
“Obviously, we appreciate the support we’ve received from around the world, but nothing really more has happened. Not much more to say,” Sinclair said.
The Canadian players have been negotiating with the federation in the wake of a landmark agreement for equal pay between the U.S. Soccer Federation and its players.
“The men’s team is fully supportive and we’re both on the same page,” Sinclair said. “Now it’s just a matter of getting Canada Soccer on it.”
U.S. VS. CANADA
What: CONCACAF Women’s Championship
When: Monday, 6:50 p.m.
How to watch: Paramount+, TUDN
