Alex Morgan lifts team to victory
Orlando Pride star Alex Morgan powered the U.S. women’s national team to a 2-0 victory over France on Tuesday as the team completed an unbeaten series of matches in Europe.
The Americans remain undefeated since before the 2019 FIFA World Cup, including 17 games under current U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski.
Morgan served as the catalyst for both goals, challenging the French backline from the opening minute with slashing runs to slip behind the defense.
In the fifth minute, the striker was knocked to the ground in the box, earning a penalty kick that star Megan Rapinoe cooly finished.
The collision resulted in a French player stepped on Morgan’s foot, leaving her hobbling for several minutes. But the striker quickly returned to full speed, slipping behind a defender in the 19th minute to bury a pass from Christen Press with her first touch off her right foot.
The goal was the second Morgan has scored for the U.S. women’s national team following the birth of her daughter last summer.
“After looking at this game — I think she’s back,” Andonovski said. “We went against one of the best teams in the world and she scores one and gets a penalty kick for another one. That’s a pretty good impact for any player on the team . ... Besides the direct impact with assists and in goal, she was also very involved in our build up, she was able to hold the ball, bring the midfielders in the game and release pressure for us.”
Although Andonovksi said Morgan is close to her top form, the striker still hasn’t played a full 90 minutes for the U.S. women’s national team. Morgan rotated out of the match at the 75-minute mark, replaced by Carli Lloyd, but that was her longest duration on the field since returning to the team.
Morgan said she feels ready to return to a 90-minute shift for both club and country.
“I’ve been fortunate enough for us to have games week in and week out where we’ve gotten 90 minutes consistently,” Morgan said. “So coming into this camp I felt really sharp and fit and felt like if 90 minutes was asked of me that I could take that on.”
Morgan said an extended preseason with the Orlando Pride offered her a chance to hone the final pieces of her game, and she entered the April camp with the U.S. women’s national team invigorated and confident.
Andonovski said the slight shift was noticeable in training before her performance against France.
“In the last couple of practices, it’s almost like she bumped it a notch,” Andonovski said. “It was just a little more focused, a little more concentrated. As a staff, we were talking about how she got the killer instinct back.”
France was notably shorthanded for the match after a COVID-19 outbreak at French club Olympique Lyonnais kept stars Wendie Renard, Griedge Mbock, Sakina Karchaoui, Amandine Henry, Amel Majri and Delphine Cascarino from participating in the match. Catarina Macario — a young American standout who made her debut earlier this year — was also sidelined during the club’s lockdown.
The victory came after the Americans suffered a “punch in the mouth” during a challenging 1-1 draw to Sweden last Saturday.
Morgan and her fellow teammates who play in the NWSL will now return to the league for the Challenge Cup.
The striker previously said she expects to be ready to play for the Pride in their third match of the tournament against the Washington Spirit April 21. Emily Sonnett, Kelley O’Hara and Andi Sullivan are also expected to return to the Spirit for the match.
Andonovski said he watched every game of the NWSL opening weekend and will watch the Orlando Pride when they host Gotham FC Wednesday night.
The Americans will have one final international window ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, which will be closed to family and fans. Andonovski plans to make his final decisions for the 18-player Olympics roster following June friendlies, which have not yet been announced.