San Diego Wave forward Alex Morgan has been left out of the USWNT squad for the upcoming 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup.
The Gold Cup kicks off on 17 February, and the US open play on 20 February against either Guyana or the Dominican Republic in Carson, California. The USWNT will then play Argentina on 23 February and will conclude the group stage with a match against Mexico three days later. The tournament ends on 10 March.
Interim manager Twila Kilgore, who will remain in charge while incoming coach Emma Hayes finishes the WSL season with Chelsea, named a youthful 23-player roster. Teenagers Olivia Moultrie and Jaedyn Shaw were named to the squad, but veterans Morgan and Becky Sauerbrunn were left out.
Kilgore said the Gold Cup will give younger players a chance to experience a tournament similar to the Olympic format. The USWNT have qualified for this year’s Paris Games.
“Nobody is out of the mix,” Kilgore said. “That goes for some of our bigger names, that goes for lesser names that we’ve been tracking. We want to get it right, and everybody’s still involved. This is more about the fact that there can only be 23 people on the roster, and as we head toward the Olympics, only 18. We just simply can’t include everybody and this is the group that we feel is the right group for right now and who we need to look at in this tournament.”
Mallory Swanson is returning to the national team, but she’s not ready to play in a match yet. Swanson, who injured her left knee last April and missed the Women’s World Cup, will train with the United States for the inaugural Gold Cup but she won’t play in tournament games.
Swanson has scored seven goals in six games when she injured her knee in a match against Ireland in the run-up to the World Cup. The injury to her patella tendon required surgery.
Joining Swanson as training players are midfielder Savannah DeMelo and defender Gisele Thompson. Alyssa Thompson, Gisele’s sister who was on the team’s World Cup roster, was left off because of a minor back injury, Kilgore said.
“We believe she’s absolutely ready for this step,” Kilgore said about Swanson’s participation. “She’s just a really important leader on this team. She’s stayed connected and involved in different ways while going through her recovery and this is just the next natural progression.”
Twenty-one players named to the Concacaf W Gold Cup roster featured for the USWNT in their December camp, which featured two wins over China.
Full USWNT squad for Concacaf W Gold Cup
Goalkeepers: Jane Campbell, Houston Dash; Casey Murphy, North Carolina Courage; Alyssa Naeher, Chicago Red Stars
Defenders: Alana Cook, Seattle Reign; Abby Dahlkemper, San Diego Wave; Crystal Dunn, NJ/NY Gotham; Tierna Davidson, NJ/NY Gotham; Emily Fox, Arsenal; Naomi Girma, San Diego Wave; Casey Krueger, Washington Spirit; Jenna Nighswonger, NY/NJ Gotham
Midfielders: Korbin Albert, Paris Saint-Germain; Sam Coffey, Portland Thorns; Lindsey Horan, Lyon; Rose Lavelle, NJ/NY Gotham; Olivia Moultrie, Portland Thorns; Emily Sonnett, NJ/NY Gotham
Forwards: Mia Fishel, Chelsea; Midge Purce, NJ/NY Gotham; Trinity Rodman, Washington Spirit; Jaedyn Shaw, San Diego Wave; Sophia Smith, Portland Thorns; Lynn Williams, NJ/NY Gotham
