US Men Set to play international window with an interim coach while we wait for Pachitino to finally be announced officially. Interesting that we are missing a bunch of starters for this week’s games — pointing to the US not really worrying about this series of games – including a huge match up with Canadian big mouth coach who predicted a 2-1 victory for the mounties this weekend. I for one and happy to see Barca’s Kochen in camp – would love to see the youngster get a shot to grab the top slot soon. With Horvath and Turner screwing up their English opportunities – it might well be time to determine who’s next and moving on. Is Kochen perhaps better than Gaga Slovenia? Hopefully we’ll get a chance to see this week.
The 24-player USMNT roster for Sat Sept 7 vs Canada 4 pm & Tues Sept 10 7 pm on TBS & HBO Max
GOALKEEPERS (4): Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City), Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona II), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace)
DEFENDERS (8): Auston Trusty (Celtic FC), Marlon Fossey (Standard Liege), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo), Mark McKenzie (Tolouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Caleb Wiley (Strasbourg)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven)
FORWARDS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Josh Sargent (Norwich City), Haji Wright (Coventry City)
vs Canada — Saturday, Sept. 7 — Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City, Kansas – 4pm ET
vs New Zealand — Tuesday, Sept. 10 — TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio – 7pm ET
To show how excited I am — I am not even considering going to Cincy Tues night — I have been to every other US Men’s or Ladies game that has ever been played in Cincy. If it was vs Canada I would be going. Oh well.
TV SCHEDULE
Sat, Sept 5
12 noon FS1 England vs Ireland
2:45 pm FS2 Netherlands vs Bosnia
How will USMNT lineup versus Canada? U.S. roster for friendlies
NBC Sports Wed, Sep 4, 2024, 8:31 AM EDT·4 min read
The United States men’s national team, still awaiting the unveiling of expected new boss Mauricio Pochettino, is set for a pair of home friendlies this month versus Canada and New Zealand.
The first USMNT matches since the team’s Copa America flameout, a stunning group stage flop that cost Gregg Berhalter his second stint as coach, will see new names and a few big absences.
Fulham’s Antonee Robinson is being given a month off after playing with an injury for some time, while Bournemouth‘s Tyler Adams is dealing with an injury setback and Weston McKennie is allowed to stay with Juventus to get more training time after a truncated preseason.
[ MORE: USMNT in 2024 — Schedule, results ]
McKennie’s club teammate Timothy Weah is also injured and won’t get a chance to test the USMNT waters after his poor red card in Copa America, while Sergino Dest remains out of action with his long-term injury.Also not in the fold? Cameron Carter-Vickers, Miles Robinson, Gaga Slonina, Lennard Maloney, and Kevin Paredes. That will lead to some interesting lineups. In charge is Mikey Varas, the well-respected San Francisco native who led the U.S. U-20 team after stints with the FC Dallas and Sacramento Republic set-ups.Will Varas choose to go full-strength twice? If not, will he rotate stars in and out or choose a star-heavy lineup once and a new-face heavy team the second time? If so, it would make sense that Christian Pulisic and the big names start against Canada and are on the bench to start versus New Zealand.Let’s see how the USMNT might look after peering at the full squad by position below.
USMNT roster for friendlies vs Canada, New Zealand
Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City), Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona II), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace)
Defenders: Auston Trusty (Celtic), Marlon Fossey (Standard Liege), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo), Mark McKenzie (Tolouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Caleb Wiley (Strasbourg)
Midfielders:: Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/)
Forwards: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Josh Sargent (Norwich City), Haji Wright (Coventry City)
USMNT new faces cheat sheet: Who are Diego Kochen, Marlon Fossey, and Aidan Morris?
For those who might be unfamiliar with some of the few-capped or uncapped players in the team….
Marlon Fossey: The Standard Liege right back will turn 26 during camp and has not represented the U.S. since 2017 with the U-20s. The Los Angeles-born Fossey was in the Fulham set-up from 2009-22, taking loans to Shrewsbury Town and Bolton Wanderers before transferring to Standard Liege in 2022. He’s a regular start for Standard, going 90 minutes in all six of their 2024-25 matches.
Diego Kochen: The 18-year-old is a dual national (Peru), and has represented the U.S. and u-17 and u-19 levels. He’s on Barcelona’s second team but was on the bench for 26 La Liga matches last season.
Aidan Morris: The 22-year-old made his debut at the 2023 Gold Cup and all three of his other caps came in international friendlies (two in off-window January games). He came up with Columbus Crew and is impressing in his first season with Middlesbrough in England‘s Championship, where he’s chewing up minutes at defensive mid.
How will USMNT lineup versus Canada? Best XI
Let’s start by establishing parameters here: Given the absences mentioned above, the Yanks are shy their pretty nailed-on starters at right back, left back, right wing, holding mid, and box-to-box center mid.
With a pretty versatile set of forwards, Gio Reyna or Malik Tillman could play right wing or in the hold. Yunus Musah is also quite versatile and could play in a wide position to allow Luca de la Torre to play, but this seems most likely.
Another note: Matt Turner’s inclusion despite a recent loan move does seem like a chance to get him live action, though there could be a notion to rotate there, too.
Matt Turner
Joe Scally — Chris Richards — Tim Ream — Kristoffer Lund
Johnny Cardoso — Yunus Musah
Giovanni Reyna — Malik Tillman — Christian Pulisic
Folarin Balogun
How will USMNT lineup versus Canada? Experimental
Matt Turner
Marlon Fossey — Chris Richards — Tim Ream — Caleb Wiley
Yunus Musah — Luca de la Torre
Brenden Aaronson — Giovanni Reyna — Christian Pulisic
Ricardo Pepi
Alex Morgan announces retirement from soccer
She will play her final match on Sunday.
By Donald Wine II@blazindw Sep 5, 2024, 9:22am PDT
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73565978/2156655028.0.jpg)
A legend is leaving the game. Today, Alex Morgan announced that she will be retiring from soccer in a heartfelt message posted on social media. She will play her final match on Sunday when the San Diego Wave host the North Carolina Courage.
Alex Morgan is one of the most decorated and heralded players in U.S. Soccer history. Nicknamed “Baby Horse” early on, she joined the national team in 2010 and had 224 caps for the United States Women’s National Team, ninth-most all time. She finishes fifth in USWNT history with 123 goals, and 9th in all-time assists with 53. The USWNT was 177W-15L-32D in matches where she was on the field. More brilliantly, the USWNT never lost (76W-0L-10D) in the 86 matches where Alex Morgan scored.
She was a winner on all levels, winning the 2011 WPS title with the Western New York Flash and winning a NWSL title with the Portland Thorns in 2013. She won the Divsion 1 Féminine, the French Cup, and the Women’s Champions League in her lone season with Lyon, and she won the 2023 NWSL Shield and 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup with the San Diego Wave. On the international level, her winning began in her youth as she was a member of the USWNT U-20 squad that won the U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2008. On the senior national team, she won the 2015 and 2019 Women’s World Cup, a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics, a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics, 3 Concacaf Women’s Championships, 2 Concacaf Olympic qualifying tournaments, 3 Algarve Cups, 6 SheBelieves Cups, and the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup.
Morgan also announced that she is pregnant with her second child, and she will play in her final match on Sunday.
“I grew up on this team, it was so much more than soccer,” said Morgan in a statement released by U.S. Soccer. “It was the friendships and the unwavering respect and support among each other, the relentless push for global investment in women’s sports, and the pivotal moments of success both on and off the field. I am so incredibly honored to have borrowed the crest for more than 15 years. I learned so much about myself in that time and so much of that is a credit to my teammates and our fans. I feel immense pride in where this team is headed, and I will forever be a fan of the USWNT. My desire for success may have always driven me, but what I got in return was more than I could have ever asked and hoped for.”
It is unclear when there will be a celebration of her career at a USWNT match. The USWNT are next in action in three home matches in late October, and it’s assumed that one of them will be that celebration. For now, fans can tune in or attend the match on Sunday to salute one of the great players in U.S. Soccer history.
USA vs. Canada, 2024 Friendly: What to watch for
The USMNT waits for the new manager.
By Brendan Joseph Sep 6, 2024, 6:30am PDT
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73567835/2161785440.0.jpg)
The United States Men’s National Team is embarking on the first international window of the post-Gregg Berhalter era without a permanent manager in the technical area. Despite the maelstrom of rumors linking Mauricio Pochettino to the open position, Mikey Varas will serve in an interim role for the two friendlies and named a 24-player training camp roster. The first match is against rivals Canada, which enjoyed the breakout summer performance at the Copa América that was originally predicted for their two North American Football Union foes.
Ranked as the 40th best team in the world by FIFA, Les Rouges (The Reds) have become more of a rival over the past decade, particularly as the program’s talent base has improved. The two sides last faced off in the quarterfinal round of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup, with the USMNT claiming a shootout victory, 2-2 (3-2). Despite that match being a little over a year ago, there have been sea changes as both programs experienced managerial switches and drastic shifts in form. As the series continues, Canada should continue to notch impressive results and provide further dramatic chapters in the climb toward regional supremacy.
Latest Form
USA
L (0-1) – Uruguay – Copa América Group C
L (1-2) – Panama – Copa América Group C
W (2-0) – Bolivia – Copa América Group C
D (1-1) – Brazil – Friendly
L (1-5) – Colombia – Friendly
Canada
L (2-2 [3-4]) – Uruguay – Copa América Third Place
L (0-2) – Argentina – Copa América Semifinal
W (1-1 [4-3]) – Venezuela – Copa América Quarterfinal
D (0-0) – Chile – Copa América Group A
W (1-0) – Peru – Copa América Group A
What To Watch For
Whose tactics are these? There is a constant drumbeat of Pochettino stories with the assumption that his appointment is mere days from being announced. While Varas is in control of the squad and calling the shots for this camp, perhaps there will be a few lineup choices or tactical tweaks that seem suspiciously similar to the Argentine’s proclivities. The World Cup is less than two years away, and every match counts, whether he is officially leading the program or not.
Who steps up? There are quite a few notable absences, including but not limited to Weston McKennie, Antonee Robinson, Tyler Adams, Timothy Weah, and Sergiño Dest. There will be opportunities for multiple players to step up during the window and carve out a place in the squad. Johnny Cardoso is drawing a slew of transfer interest due to his “exceptional skills, versatility, impressive work effort,” although he is yet to have his true breakout performance with the USMNT. His success at the club level will eventually translate, as a player of his quality cannot be contained for very long.
Handling the press. Canada is going to push the opposing defensive line and force turnovers in advantageous areas, tactics that would have thrived against Berhalter’s attempts at playing out of back. Will there be more of a focus on verticality and Route One soccer in order to bypass the dangerous areas? Certain USMNT players are a better fit for the old style, while others might benefit from run-and-gun or bunker-and-counter gameplans. The rumored upcoming manager (whose sides also employ a front-foot counter-press) could leave some regulars out in the cold.
Lineup Prediction
Varas is missing several key contributors to the squad, but friendlies are typically an opportunity for experimentation and providing a shot to less-used players. However, in this interim period, there are unlikely to be drastic formational or tactical alterations.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25605796/usmnt_roster_again.png)
Despite struggles at the club level, Matt Turner remains the presumed number-one goalkeeper until a challenger wrests the position from his gloves. Tim Ream is likely being saved for the New Zealand friendly, and Kristoffer Lund gets his chance to shine with multiple fullback absences. While Mark McKenzie failed to grab more of a role following his two starts at the 2021 CONCACAF Nations League Finals, he should be a heavy favorite to form the centre-back partnership with Chris Richards at the upcoming World Cup. The openings in the midfield offer opportunities for several players to make their mark, jockeying for every chance to prove their value, with ball-playing under pressure and line-splitting at a priority against high-pressing tactics. Haji Wright steps into the lineup at winger for the injured Gio Reyna, and Folarin Balogun retains his spot after two finishes at the Copa América.
Prediction
Both sides attempt to dominate the game, and, while there are some fireworks, proceedings end in a 1-1 draw.
What are your predicti
USMNT watchlist: With key starters out injured, here’s who could rise to the occasion
By Jeff Rueter Sep 6, 2024
With the benefit of hindsight, 2024 will be remembered as a year of needed transition for the U.S. men’s national team. This September provides the first chance to move on from the team’s failure at the Copa America.Although the program has moved on from former head coach Gregg Berhalter, this reunion comes under interim leadership. Mikey Varas will oversee a squad of mainstays and fresh faces as U.S. Soccer works to finalize a contract with Mauricio Pochettino.
This summer also saw several crucial United States internationals fail to improve their club situations before the transfer window closed. From players unable to secure upward moves to others still toiling in bench roles, it’s worth questioning the overall caliber of the pool’s top end. However, these four players (and others) have landed on Varas’ squad thanks to strong consistent play at the club level. Against Canada and New Zealand, they’ll hope to bolster their cases for greater inclusion in the months and years ahead.
Patrick Schulte, goalkeeper, Columbus Crew
Among the most frustrating situations in the recent transfer window, Matt Turner failed to find a move away from Nottingham Forest that would result in consistent starts. Instead, he’s gone from third or fourth on that club’s depth chart to backing up Dean Henderson at Crystal Palace. It’s a far from ideal scenario for the 30-year-old, who hasn’t been a regular starter since February and may again struggle to maintain form between international windows.From a USMNT perspective, there haven’t been obvious and viable alternatives for the position since Turner was dropped last winter.Columbus Crew’s Patrick Schulte could challenge Turner for starts based on form and potential alike. The 23-year-old parlayed a clutch turn during the Crew’s run to winning MLS Cup 2023 into a starting spot at this summer’s Olympics, backstopping the United States U-23s to a quarterfinal showing.Schulte leads all MLS goalkeepers — not just domestic options — with a +33.7 per cent goal prevention rate, far ahead of the league’s average this season of 6.7 per cent. For comparison’s sake, that approaches Turner in 2019 (+38.3 per cent) and 2020 (+35.6% per cent), and is ahead of Turner’s rate of +15.7 per cent when he won goalkeeper of the year in 2021.Schulte is also used to playing out from the back under Wilfried Nancy, while his 46.1 per cent completion rate when passing at least 35 yards ranks 5th this season. (Turner had a 42.2 per cent rate with New England from 2019 through 2022.)
Many will focus on Diego Kochen’s presence on the roster, as the FC Barcelona II teenager makes his first senior international squad. Don’t overlook Schulte, though — he could pose a threat to Turner’s spot atop the depth chart between now and the 2026 World Cup.
Auston Trusty, center back, Celtic FC
While the USMNT pool has plenty of options at center back, few have cemented places in the first-choice squad. Tim Ream started all three games at the Copa America, but the veteran is a month shy of his 37th birthday and a succession plan is long overdue. Beyond Ream and Chris Richards, other alternatives have been unconvincing since the 2022 World Cup.
When Auston Trusty first moved from the Colorado Rapids to Arsenal, it elicited memes of staying within the Stan Kroenke family conglomerate. However, the move has done wonders for the 26-year-old. A loan spell at Birmingham City and a year with Sheffield United earned him a summer move to Celtic. Although he hasn’t yet debuted for the three-time reigning Premiership champion, he’ll slot in next to Cameron Carter-Vickers as the duo hopes to bolster their USMNT chances in tandem.
Although Sheffield United were relegated from the Premier League, Trusty logged 32 appearances and 2,573 minutes in the world’s stoutest circuit. Playing for a perennial title favorite should allow him to showcase his abilities under far less duress, especially the left-footed defender’s passing acumen that often shone brightly during his time in MLS.It’s a congested position, but one lacking viable prospects — so much so that Olympic men’s coach Marko Mitrovic used two of his three over-23 slots on central defenders for the Paris Games. That doesn’t bode well for the program’s mid-to-long-term future, but it keeps the door open for Trusty, Carter-Vickers and others to keep making their case.
Marlon Fossey, right-back, Standard Liege
Long among the program’s deepest positions, the USMNT is worryingly thin at right-back. That much was laid bare this summer, as Sergino Dest’s ACL tear left Berhalter with a scarcity of alternatives ahead of the Copa America. Joe Scally struggled mightily throughout the tournament but is still in line to top the depth chart until Dest returns. With DeAndre Yedlin and Shaq Moore rotated in and out over the past two years, Bryan Reynolds still playing at Westerlo and Reggie Cannon’s career in limbo amid a contract kerfuffle, the door is open for alternatives.Enter Marlon Fossey, something of a post-hype sleeper, to borrow fantasy football parlance. A promising member of Fulham’s ranks from 2009 until 2022, the 25-year-old has spent the last two seasons enjoying regular starts with Standard de Liège. Fossey has logged 3,850 Pro League minutes for the Belgian club in just over two seasons and has played all 540 minutes of their campaign this season.
The Los Angeles-born right back is a capable ball carrier, with his 2.72 progressive carries per 90 minutes ranking in the 80th percentile of all full-backs in FBref’s Men’s Next 14 Competitions. He has increased his crossing volume since moving to Belgium, sending in an average of 2.7 crosses per 90 minutes since the start of 2023-24. FBref assesses his most comparable full-back peer to be… Kristoffer Lund, who broke into the senior squad late in Berhalter’s tenure and is also part of this September’s roster.It’s unclear how high to set expectations for Fossey, as he plays for a lower-half club in a competition beneath Europe’s highest standard. Still, his move into the senior national team has been long-awaited, and he has rounded out his game considerably over the past two years. With Dest expected to not return until 2025, Fossey could have a few chances to impress and stick around the USMNT.
Aidan Morris, center midfielder, Middlesbrough
Central midfield has been an area of strength for the program since the dawn of Berhalter’s tenure. However, that once-unimpeachable stature has looked increasingly unstable following the 2022 World Cup.It’s far easier to say “MMA” than to keep all three of Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah and Tyler Adams on the field at once. In particular, Adams has struggled to stay fit since his final months with Leeds in 2023. Although Johnny Cardoso has become the team’s backup defensive midfielder, there’s still a scarcity of obvious alternatives in more advanced roles — especially as Malik Tillman and Gio Reyna look more at home when playing close to the forward line than in the heart of the park.With Adams and McKennie unavailable for this camp, Varas will have the freedom to construct a midfield from scratch. Aidan Morris will likely see meaningful time, and it’s wholly deserved in his current form. Morris had a storied if brief tenure with the Columbus Crew, rising from the academy in time to start in their 2020 MLS Cup triumph before becoming a first-choice option in ensuing seasons. Morris again won MLS Cup in 2023, this time as a central cog in Nancy’s eye-catching juggernaut.
Morris made a $4million (£3m) move to Middlesbrough this summer, instantly working into Michael Carrick’s teamsheet for the new Championship campaign. He hasn’t struggled with the transition whatsoever, even as his distributive role in two similar possession-based systems has changed.
Morris continues to do a lot of the short-distance engine room distribution that made his partnership with Darlington Nagbe so remarkable in MLS. What he has yet to tap into since moving to England is his knack for slinging long diagonals toward the flank — a ball that Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah long for with the USMNT.Morris is the only midfielder at this camp who wasn’t a regular under Berhalter, the first of a rising wave of options from the youth ranks. While his transfer ruled him out for the Olympics, that tournament reinforced that Tanner Tessmann and Gianluca Busio are ready for senior team looks. That doesn’t factor for many other options like Jack McGlynn, Benja Cremaschi, Cole Bassett or Daniel Edelman.If Morris can impress in this camp and retain his form in England, he should have an inside track to stick around for a look under Pochettino.(Top photos: John Dorton / Getty Images)
Who is Mikey Varas, USMNT’s ‘attentive’ and ‘methodical’ interim coach?
By Greg O’KeeffeSep 5, 2024 The Athletic
They might be waiting for the alluring promise of the Mauricio Pochettino era to begin, but the USMNT cannot afford to lose focus over the next week.
The next seven days bring two friendly fixtures, which allow the team to draw a line under their regressive Copa America campaign and recapture the imagination of supporters following that bumpy summer.But while the appointment of the former Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea boss may be the biggest driver in that regard, the catalyst can also come via convincing performances against CONCACAF rivals Canada on Saturday, then New Zealand next Wednesday.That’s where Mikey Varas comes in. An assistant coach under Gregg Berhalter, who paid for that disappointing Copa campaign with his job, Varas is interim manager for the fixtures in Kansas City and Cincinnati.But what can fans expect from the low-profile former FC Dallas assistant manager?Luchi Gonzalez has known 41-year-old Varas for a decade and their paths have crossed repeatedly in the game. The ex-San Jose Earthquakes coach rates him so highly that when he was in charge of FC Dallas in 2018, he wasted little time in bringing Varas, then the club’s academy manager, onto his first-team staff.“The game is his life and I had the pleasure of living it with him,” says Gonzalez, who parted company with the Quakes in June after joining ahead of the 2023 season.“Mikey is one of the most talented soccer minds in the country. At Dallas, the academy teams were flying under him, the national youth teams (Varas was the U.S. Under-20 coach before assisting Berhalter) flew under him and I have no doubt he’ll make an impact with the senior team in these games.”
Luchi Gonzalez had Varas as part of his coaching staff at FC Dallas (Omar Vega/Getty Images)
Gonzalez says Varas is a deep thinker who he trusted with a variety of roles but particularly excelled in training methods and innovation.“We did our A License coaching badge together in 2013 and became close,” he explains. “We have similar philosophies about the game and player development.“So when I was made head coach at Dallas, it was obvious for me to bring him onto my staff. We were all new in that environment and at that level of competition, but for the three years we worked together, we qualified for the playoffs in two of them.“He really helped us step up our training methodology, in technical and tactical terms, and he did great work with our attacking set pieces as well.”Peter Luccin, the former Atletico Madrid midfielder and now FC Dallas’s interim head coach, worked with Varas as an assistant to Gonzalez at Toyota Stadium.“Mikey is firm in what he believes in but also an open-minded guy at the same time,” says the Frenchman, who also played for PSG and Marseille before moving into coaching in MLS.“He is attentive and methodical. We all 100 per cent thought he was going to go on to big things in his coaching career.”Luccin describes his friend as a patriot who will be incredibly proud to steer the national team through these September games, but says he is also an intense competitor who will demand full commitment from his temporary charges, even if there are no points to be played for.“He would play in our staff five-a-side games and take them very seriously,” he recalls. “He’d be extremely competitive. That’s how Mikey is.“He was a good-quality midfielder as a player and very technically gifted with both feet, but as a coach, it’s his work with young players that has caught the eye a lot. He excelled in that early in his career (one of Varas’ early roles was as Sacramento Republic’s under-14s coach in 2016). That is maybe what has been in the federation’s thinking in making him interim manager.
Varas will guide the USMNT during friendlies against Canada and New Zealand (Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
“As you can see from his roster, he is prepared to give young players a chance. I’m sure they asked him to do that and he is the right guy for this moment.”Varas, according to Luccin, enjoys spending time with his family when he is not traveling to watch games. He is looking forward to watching his friend’s big moment on Saturday.“I’d be watching these games anyway but of course with extra interest now,” he says. “It’s huge for Mikey and he deserves it. He will get to work with these unbelievable players at the top level and the exposure will be great.”The two spoke briefly when Varas’ appointment was announced and Luccin’s advice was simple. “I told him to enjoy it,” he says, “to smile and enjoy the moment while pushing the players like I know he will.“He has a winning mentality and I don’t know what will come next for him after this, but I know it will be a bright future.”
When life gives Mauricio Pochettino lemons, he believes the good times are coming
USWNT won Olympic gold without Alex Morgan, but her impact extends beyond on-field wins
Steph Yang Sep 5, 2024
Editor’s note: This is an updated version of an article to reflect Alex Morgan’s retirement announcement on Sept. 5, 2024. The story was first published on Aug. 1, 2024.
Alex Morgan was inescapable this summer, but not because she went to the Olympics. Whether it’s Coca-Cola commercials or Reese’s Instagram ads, she was on every screen and every device. Sponsors made these deals expecting Morgan to be on the U.S. women’s national team roster for the Paris Games. But when head coach Emma Hayes announced her team in June, the unthinkable happened: no Morgan.
Advertisement
It was a surprise and yet it wasn’t.Morgan has played for the United States in every major tournament they’ve participated in since 2011. She has won the World Cup twice, worn Olympic gold and bronze medals, and with 123 goals, is eighth on the women’s all-time international goals scored list. She is also on the downslope of her career, having long ago left behind the “baby horse” moniker fondly bestowed on her by senior teammates and becoming the senior teammate herself. “Putting a squad together, you’re always going to disappoint someone,” said Hayes during a podcast taping for “The Women’s Game” with Sam Mewis. “I think when it comes to Alex, first of all, there’s no easy way to give someone crap news…. The human piece for me is around the delivery of that (news). But also accepting that no matter the situation, there’s always gonna be somebody who doesn’t like the decision.”
Emotionally, it’s always jarring to see a great generational player sunsetted by a coach. The name “Alex Morgan” has been synonymous with the USWNT for over a decade. But logistically and tactically, there was certainly an argument for leaving the 35-year-old Morgan and taking a newer generation of scoring talent, one that is still bolstered by veteran presence from Crystal Dunn, Lindsey Horan, Lynn Williams and Rose Lavelle.
As the USWNT captured gold against Brazil, there was no question of needing another veteran. Hayes’ preferred starting front three of Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, and Trinity Rodman dazzled, with rookie Croix Bethune waiting in the wings.
The end of Morgan’s time with the U.S. was writing on the wall when Hayes first left her off the W Gold Cup roster in February. Morgan was only called in after Chelsea forward Mia Fishel tore her ACL in training. It’s hard not to assign symbolism to the image of Morgan in a differently-numbered jersey, sporting a No 7 in place of her iconic No 13 due to CONCACAF rules about wearing the same number as the player you replace. After 14 years in the No 13 jersey, the number is almost as much a part of her brand as her actual play on the field.
Advertisement
Morgan scored two goals in that tournament, one of them a penalty. It was her first goal in 10 international games, covering more than a year. On Thursday, she announced she was retiring from the sport and expecting her second child. Her final game will take place on Sunday against North Carolina Courage in the NWSL.
Her on-field role has increasingly become as much about the damage she can absorb as she pulls attention away from other players as it is about scoring. That defensive attention is a hallmark of the respect she has still accorded, the danger she still presents in front of goal. But it’s no longer consistent, varied or efficient enough to justify a spot on the toughest international roster to make, at least not in Hayes’ mind.
Still, in the face of declining stats, there was always the argument for Morgan’s presence as a veteran and a leader. She was, until recently, co-captain with Lindsey Horan, someone whose voice carried authority with both teammates and fans. When midfielder Korbin Albert’s anti-LGBTQ social media posts began circulating widely, Morgan was out in front of the cameras with Horan at her side, reading a prepared team statement about maintaining a respectful space and speaking internally to Albert. It was unquestionably a captain’s job, intercepting scrutiny on behalf of the team, the kind of thankless task that comes with the armband.
Horan has taken leadership lessons from Morgan, too, while she’s still learning on the job as the new, and only, team captain.
“Experiencing a World Cup with Alex was crucial for that experience,” Horan said in New York before leaving for France.
Horan credits Morgan for helping her take on the role of captain (Brad Smith, Getty Images)
Before Horan, Morgan and Megan Rapinoe were co-captains. The two arranged team dinners before camps so the players could bond and have a night out.
“There are things that exist (that) leaders and veterans on this team have been doing for many years and it’s kind of been passed down,” said defender Naomi Girma, who said that in this iteration of the USWNT, Emily Sonnett and Lavelle arranged the latest team dinner in New York. “Everyone is so special in their own way, so there’s never going to be another one of an Alex or Pinoe.”
Advertisement
Sonnet, who was on the 2019 and 2023 World Cup teams with Morgan and Rapinoe, said the players often do things they think the two former leaders would have done.
“Alex is an incredible leader and she’s been on this team for so many years,” said Sonnett. “Leaders like Lindsey, Mal (Swanson), Rose, they’re definitely remembering things that Alex, Pinoe, who aren’t on this roster, what they would be doing because we’ve just been around them for so many years.”
Alongside her teammates, Morgan was part of historic collective bargaining agreement negotiations that helped pave the way for the USWNT as it exists today, with not just better money and working conditions, but also benefits like parental leave and short-term disability.
She’s spoken up about LGBTQ+ rights, including supporting trans children in sports, and followed Rapinoe in 2020 in kneeling during the national anthem to protest anti-Black police brutality and racism. When she was on loan at Tottenham Hotspur in 2020, she saw the women’s senior team training at an inferior facility and convinced the club to allow the women to use the same new training facility as the men. When Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir sued her own club Lyon for withholding her salary when she got pregnant, Morgan again advocated for the standards clubs should provide for parents.
And she feels compelled to speak up as one of, if not the most visible, players wherever she goes, publicly stating she was disappointed to hear about allegations of harassment against Wave president Jill Ellis, writing on X: “It’s important to me that we are creating that environment for both players AND staff throughout the entire organization.”
Morgan’s advocacy for various causes could have backfired in terms of her marketability. But it hasn’t. She is as potent a brand as ever, landing on Forbes’ highest-paid female athletes list in 2023 with endorsements estimated around $7million. In 2021, she founded TOGETHXR, a media and commerce company, alongside Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel and Sue Bird. Her hustle is admirable to the point of pathos. During one scene in Netflix’s “Under Pressure” documentary, she comforts daughter Charlie while Charlie cries for attention in the midst of Morgan opening a soccer store — a reminder of Morgan, the mother.
But the reality of being a woman in professional soccer is that no one, not even Morgan, is going to make enough money to retire without careful, calculated investment and branding. Similarly high-profile men’s players can set themselves up nearly off pure performance. Any man knocking in the kinds of numbers that Morgan has produced in her career will make millions from his salary alone, let alone endorsements.
Morgan has advocated for parental rights at club and national level (Brad Smith, Getty Images)
But Morgan has had to cash in on her clutch, once-in-a-lifetime talent while also leveraging her privileges: she is white, straight and femme-presenting. That makes her a more palatable brand to both businesses and audiences in a country that has a well-documented history of racism, misogyny, and transphobia towards athletes outside of a stereotypical presentation of femininity, athletes like Rapinoe, Serena Williams, Katie Ledecky, Brittney Griner, Simone Biles, and Sha’Carri Richardson. The space Morgan is afforded to speak out and speak up is accordingly bigger compared to Dunn or even Rapinoe, whose outspokenness has incurred criticism that she has weathered through her own unique levels of “not giving a f***.”
Morgan has admirably walked the line between performance and brand, outspokenness and marketability. She’s presented herself as player, mom and advocate while also guarding her private self.
With someone as famous as Morgan, who partially built her reputation on being a role model, and partially was assigned the responsibility through social expectation of women in sports, there is a natural desire to want to know that authentic, private self. One aspect of her smart marketing has been to give enough of a glimpse into that private life — like the aforementioned scene with Charlie — while maintaining a fairly strict boundary between herself and the public.
Her social media posts about her family are warm and personable but don’t give away any more than Morgan wants to give away. She’s funny and charming on camera and doesn’t mind speaking candidly on social justice topics, but these moments are curated, usually with time to plan ahead. You won’t see the minutiae of her day, the gossip she shares with friends or disagreements with family. Like any athlete, Morgan has a right to privacy and to decide how and when she wants to dole out any piece of herself. And her ability to pick the right how and when has served her well.
Who’s next?
Walking down the street and asking someone to name a women’s soccer player, you might get a mix of Morgan, Mia Hamm, Marta, perhaps Wambach.
In this next era of women’s soccer, is it even harder to climb to generational megastar who carries “only name I know” status? While the women’s game is growing ever more popular, it’s also becoming more competitive and therefore more difficult to separate yourself from the pack. Racking up Morgan-level stats feels harder to reach, although certainly not impossible.
There are a few American contenders for the crown, based on the performance-personality axes of measurement that Morgan has played so well: that front three of Rodman, Smith, and Swanson.
Swanson, Smith and Rodman have emerged as a scoring trio at the Paris Games. (Photo by Brad Smith, Getty Images).
The trio has already built a strong fanbase, both individually and as a group, over the past few years and will only gain more leverage should they find the ultimate success at the Olympics this summer. American audiences love gold medals, sometimes to the point of extreme valorization, and U.S. Soccer has already scheduled its first post-Olympic friendlies in October against Iceland, no doubt hoping to parade a team of winners.
England Women announce USWNT, Germany friendlies
While Morgan’s time on the field is coming to an end, her impact off it is not. She’s still here. Still speaking up. Still feeling responsibility in situations that call for a voice of leadership. The example she sets is the standard many players follow for success.
There is an Alex-Morgan-shaped hole in the USWNT, but it’s also being filled by all types of players in all kinds of ways. Morgan, who fought so hard for the USWNT to be treated with respect, to be set up to win in any circumstances, is in some ways the architect of her own absence. This is a team that can exist without Morgan and that’s ultimately for the good.
(Top photo: Brad Smith/Getty Images; design: Dan Goldfarb)
USMNT Player Tracker: Trusty’s Celtic switch, Morris settling at Boro and Tillman thriving
By Greg O’Keeffe Sep 2, 2024
A Glasgow reunion, learning from Premier League heroes and dramatic Lyon debuts all play a part in this week’s USMNT Player Tracker.Throughout the season, we will be bringing you updates on the USMNT players plying their trade in various leagues around Europe. With a World Cup on home soil on the horizon, we’re keeping tabs on how they perform every weekend.
Issue of the weekend
It was an intriguing summer transfer window in various key areas for USMNT players across Europe.
Auston Trusty’s switch from Sheffield United to Celtic means the Scottish defending champions can now field two U.S. internationals in central defence. Trusty will link up with Cameron Carter-Vickers and have the potential to form a club partnership that may boost both players’ chances of more regular appearances for their country.Carter-Vickers was a regular for Brendan Rodgers’ side last season and formed part of the USMNT roster at Copa America, even if he only appeared for 45 minutes in the defeat by Panama.
Carter-Vickers holds off Rangers’ Cyriel Dessers (Ross MacDonald/SNS Group via Getty Images)
But Celtic’s swoop for his compatriot will give both a shot at playing together in the Champions League and getting the type of top-level experience that might push them forward in the thinking of incoming USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino.It can only be a positive for the Argentine as he starts to formulate his vision for the team’s future ahead of the World Cup.It is a plus, too, for 26-year-old Trusty who sounded thrilled as the five-year deal was announced on transfer deadline day. “I feel ecstatic — it’s just such a historic and amazing club, and it’s a club I’ve known about since I was a little kid,” said the defender, who was an unused substitute as Celtic thrashed Rangers 3-0 on Sunday.“Growing up in Philadelphia, football wasn’t such a popular sport but I knew Celtic, I knew who Celtic were. It’s a dream come true to join this club and such a massive organisation.“The manager told me to be the best that I can be, that’s off the pitch, as a team-mate and everything on the pitch. He said that he believes in me and believes in everything I can do, it’s up to me and he’ll provide me with an environment where I can thrive.
Trusty warms up ahead of the Old Firm (Ross MacDonald/SNS Group via Getty Images)
“I’m looking forward to meeting all the guys as well. From what I’ve heard it’s a great environment around the club, too, so I’m looking forward to it.”Trusty, who last featured for the national team in the final of the CONCACAF Nations League Finals last year, was also included in interim USMNT coach Mikey Varas’ squad for the friendlies against Canada and New Zealand this month.
Player of the weekend
Aidan Morris has hit the ground running in England, transferring the form that saw him win a Major League Soccer Cup with Columbus Crew last season into his new environment.
The 22-year-old signed for Middlesbrough in June, meaning he plays under former England and Manchester United star Michael Carrick, now the highly-rated coach of the Teesside club.
Morris, himself a promising central midfielder, has not looked back so far, starting all four of his new team’s EFL Championship games to date and excelling in their 2-0 win at Cardiff City on Saturday.
Morris celebrates his side’s second goal (Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images)
A boyhood Manchester United fan, Morris has admitted he admired his new boss and, in turn, Carrick certainly values the Floridian’s all-action style. Speaking last month, Carrick said: “It’s why we bought him. We obviously like him a lot. We’ve watched him for a while, and we like his style and the way he plays the game. We feel that it suits us and that the way we play suits him.“We’ll be patient with him. It’s a change of country, a whole new way of life for him, and he’s still young for how much experience he’s got as well. We’ll help him settle in — we’re doing that now — and look after him.”
Morris, also included in Varas’ USMNT roster for this month’s friendlies against Canada and New Zealand, provided a typically combative and mature performance in Wales, making more ball recoveries (seven) than any other midfielder and recording an impressive 97 per cent passing accuracy in his role as part of a two-man engine room behind three more attacking players.
Quote of the weekend
“What a game! Amazing support from our fans. Never give up! Happy to make my debut and to be the first American to ever play for this club.”
Tanner Tessmann, who joined French top-flight club Lyon from Serie A side Venezia in the window, made his debut from the bench on Friday in a memorable win against Strasbourg, where his compatriot Caleb Wiley is on loan from Chelsea.
Tessmann came on in the closing stages at the Stade Velodrome as his new team came from behind to win 4-3 after earlier trailing by two goals. For his part, Wiley, who also came off the bench, provided an assist with a smart pass to set up team-mate Emanuel Emegha.
How did other U.S. players get on?
Name: Antonee Robinson
Club: Fulham
Position: Left-back
Retaining Robinson, who has been monitored by a clutch of big clubs, must count as a summer success for Fulham boss Marco Silva, and the defender underlined his worth with the assist for Adama Traore’s goal as the west London club drew 1-1 with Ipswich in the Premier League on Saturday. The Fulham defender is resting up after undergoing two minor surgeries over the summer and will not be available for the USMNT this month.
Name: Malik Tillman
Club: PSV
Position: Midfielder
Another win and another eye-catching display from Tillman as PSV’s title defence continues serenely. This time, he provided an assist as Peter Bosz’s team ran out 3-0 winners against Go Ahead Eagles and made it 12 points from four games.
Tillman celebrates with Joey Veerman (Broer van den Boom/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Name: Mark McKenzie
Club: Toulouse
Position: Defender
The 25-year-old, who is playing on the left side of a back three, started his second consecutive game for the Ligue 1 club on Saturday as they lost 3-1 at home to Marseille. He signed from Belgian side Genk last month.
Name: Johnny Cardoso
Club: Real Betis
Position: Midfield
It was a tough test for the midfielder as his Betis side lost 2-0 at Real Madrid thanks to a Kylian Mbappe brace. Cardoso started on the bench but was subbed on after 57 minutes and won five of his seven ground duels.
Name: Christian Pulisic
Club: AC Milan
Position: Midfield
Pulisic grabbed an assist as Milan drew 2-2 at Lazio in Serie A. After scoring last time out, he sent in an inch-perfect corner for team-mate Strahinja Pavlovic to score with a header.
Name: Gabriel Slonina
Club: Barnsley (on loan from Chelsea)
Position: Goalkeeper
It was a first clean sheet for Slonina at his new loan club in England’s third tier, League One, as Barnsley beat Crawley Town 3-0 — and a third straight start, too. Slonina only had to make one save, such was the visitors’ dominance, but the win moved them up to seventh in the early table.
What’s coming up?
We have entered an international break but, after a fortnight’s respite, the games resume thick and fast. Lennard Maloney will hope to feature for Heidenheim as they face Gio Reyna’s Borussia Dortmund on September 13 (2:30pm, ESPN+).
Staying in Germany, Joe Scally’s Borussia Monchengladbach face Stuttgart the following day (9:30am, ESPN +).
Later that morning, Chris Richards and Crystal Palace are in action against Leicester City (10am, Peacock Premium) and, on the same channel at the same time, Robinson’s Fulham take on West Ham.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
The Ole BallCoach 