U.S. women's national team forward Alex Morgan is retiring, she announced in a video on social media Thursday.
Morgan also said she is pregnant and expecting her second child. She said she will play one more game on Sunday, when San Diego Wave FC hosts North Carolina Courage.
“I'm very clear about this decision and I'm very happy to finally be able to tell him,” Morgan said in the video. “It's been a long process and this decision hasn't been easy, but at the beginning of 2024 I felt in my heart and soul that this was the last season I would be playing football.”
Morgan, 35, is a two-time World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist. She ranks fifth in U.S. women's national team history with 123 goals scored in 224 international matches. She was not included in the U.S. women's national team roster for the 2024 Olympics despite being a starter all spring.
Morgan made her debut for the United States women's national team in 2010. Later that year, she scored a crucial goal in Italy in a FIFA World Cup playoff match to help the United States qualify for the 2011 World Cup. She quickly became a starter on the team and formed a partnership with Abby Wambach to help the United States finish runners-up at the 2011 World Cup before winning the 2012 Olympic gold medal.
Thank you🫶 image.twitter.com/8BkofVOh3s
— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) September 5, 2024
“I grew up on this team, it was so much more than just soccer,” Morgan said in a statement from US Soccer. “It was the friendships and unwavering respect and support for each other, the tireless push for global investment in women's sports and the pivotal moments of success both on and off the field.
“I feel incredibly honored to have borrowed the crest for over 15 years. I've learned a lot about myself in that time and a lot of that is thanks to my teammates and our fans. I have immense pride in the direction this team is going and will always be a fan of the U.S. women's national team.”
“My desire for success may have always driven me, but what I got in return was more than I could have ever asked for or hoped for.”
Morgan struggled with injuries before the 2015 World Cup but eventually started for the U.S. women's national team, which struggled through the tournament before defeating Japan 5-2 in the final. She scored six goals at the 2019 World Cup (five of them in a 13-0 win over Thailand) to finish tied for the most goals in the tournament.
She played in her fourth World Cup in 2023, starting all four matches for the U.S. women's national team, which was eliminated in the round of 16 for the first time.
“I don't think many people will ever understand the weight you had in being the face of this team and women's soccer in general,” U.S. captain Lindsey Horan said in a tribute to Morgan on Instagram. “You made the game better for so many little kids who looked up to you, and you had an incredible career on top of that.”
Morgan was one of the key figures in exposing the NWSL's abuse scandal in 2021, which led to the firing or resignation of five of the league's coaches and sparked an investigation that found systemic abuse and misconduct.
Morgan was instrumental in mobilizing her fellow players to demand that the NWSL adopt an anti-harassment policy and the reforms she championed to improve working conditions across the league. She also served on the negotiating committee for the latest collective bargaining agreement with NWSL players announced last month.
“Alex's legacy will live on for generations, not only in the records, awards and trophies she has won, but in the countless lives she has touched along the way,” said NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
