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“I grew up on this team. It was more than just football.”
Two-time Women’s World Cup winner Alex Morgan, who is pregnant with her second child, has announced she is retiring from professional football.
Throughout her 15-year career with the U.S. national team, Morgan not only made an impact on the field, but also led the team’s fight for equal pay and was outspoken on social justice issues.
Morgan, 35, is scheduled to play her final game for the San Diego Wave of the National Women’s Soccer League on Sunday at Snapdragon Stadium.
In addition to winning World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019, Morgan also won a gold medal with the U.S. at the 2012 London Olympics. She first joined the national team in 2009.
During her U.S. National Team career, she played in 224 games, ninth-most all-time, scoring 123 goals (fifth-most all-time) and recording 53 assists (ninth-most all-time).
“I grew up on this team. This team has meant more than football,” Morgan said in a statement. “The friendships, the unwavering respect and support for one another, the relentless commitment to investing in women’s sport globally, and the defining moments of success on and off the field. I am truly honored to have borrowed this crest for more than 15 years. I have learned so much about myself during that time, and much of it is thanks to my teammates and the fans. I am incredibly proud of the direction this team is headed, and I will always be a USWNT fan.”
Morgan was twice named U.S. Soccer Player of the Year.
Her final game for the United States will be against South Korea on June 4, 2024. She was not on the roster that won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
Morgan was one of the players who sued the U.S. Soccer Federation for gender discrimination in 2019, accusing the women’s team of unfair pay and benefits compared to the men’s national team. The two sides reached a collective bargaining agreement in 2022 that provides equal pay for both teams.
Morgan has a daughter named Charlie, who was born in 2020.