Alex Morgan calls end to legendary career | OneFootball

MIAMI – Alex Morgan, one of the top players in Concacaf for over 15 years, announced her retirement from professional soccer on Thursday, marking an end to an illustrious career for the two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, Concacaf W Gold Cup winner, and multiple time Concacaf Player of the Year.

A true icon of the game, Morgan blazed a path for past, present, and future soccer players since the start of her career. She changed the landscape of women’s soccer and women’s sports in general, becoming synonymous with both worldwide.

Drafted in 2011 to the then-active WPS league, her impact was instant. She declared herself one of the best strikers not only in the United States but globally. She also showed her skills with the senior USWNT in 2010, scoring her first goal with the national team that year.

Leaving her mark in every club she suited up for, Morgan played in some of the top clubs in the United States: Portland Thorns (2013-2015), where she became NWSL Champion in the inaugural season of the league, Orlando Pride (2016, 2016-2020, 2021) and her current club San Diego Wave (2022-2024).

She also was part of the 2016-2017 squad of the eight-time European champions Olympique Lyonnais, helping them win their fourth title as a member of the starting XI in the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final. She also helped Lyon to champion the Division 1 Féminine and the Coupe de France féminine.

Morgan even had a brief moment in the Women’s Super League in England as part of Tottenham Hotspur in 2020. In 2022, she became the star signing of the expansion team San Diego Wave. She would win the Golden Boot in the 2022 season and help the club to its first major trophy, the NWSL Shield, in 2023 as the club with the best performance in the regular season.

For the last 15 years, Alex Morgan's name has been a staple of excellence and hard work for the USWNT. She won it all with her national team throughout her career. She scored 123 goals in 224 caps, the ninth most of all-time for the United States.

Her first appearance on the biggest stage, the FIFA Women’s World Cup, was in 2011 as the youngest player on the U.S. squad. She made the roster again in 2015 as one of the critical players in the team, earning the third star for the USWNT.

She shone again in the 2019 World Cup, where she helped the USWNT become back-to-back champions. She earned the silver boot at the end of the tournament with six goals, growing her status as one of the best players in the game.

Morgan also knows what it is to win Gold at the Summer Olympics, as she led Team USA in women’s soccer to the top step of the podium in London 2012, with one of her most thrilling goals in the semi-final against Canada.

In Concacaf, she became one of the best players in every competition, being part of 29 games that include the Concacaf W Gold Cup, Concacaf Olympic Qualifiers, and Concacaf W Champions Cup. She also helped the U.S. become champions of the Concacaf W Championship in 2014, 2018, and 2022, scoring against Canada in the final to send the USWNT to the last Women’s World Cup. She has a record of 23 goals in Concacaf competitions, her first being against Guatemala in 2010 and her last in the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup earlier this year against Argentina.

Her success and influence go beyond the pitch. Her resilience and passion for equal pay made her one of the members of the USWNT who accomplished this goal for her current teammates and future generations, placing Morgan as a trailblazer for women’s sports.

Alex Morgan's final game as a professional football player was against the North Carolina Courage in the NWSL, in front of her home fans at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. It was there, coincidentally, that she lifted her last international trophy by winning the inaugural W Gold Cup.

Alex Morgan’s legacy is unmatched and will live forever on and off the pitch, leaving the game as one of the best football players ever to play the beautiful game.