Alex Morgan didn’t make the U.S. Olympic women’s soccer roster. Here’s why

For the first time in nearly two decades, Alex Morgan will not be playing for the United States in a major international tournament.

Morgan, one of the best players who will put on the U.S. women’s national team uniform when it travels to France later this month, was left off women’s national team coach Emma Hayes’ 18-player roster and will not be on the plane with the team as it tries to win a gold medal at the upcoming Summer Olympics.

Morgan, who first made the senior women’s national team in 2010, has made 224 appearances for her country, scoring 123 goals and, most notably, is the only player in Hayes’ current squad to have won an Olympic gold medal.

on wednesday, Morgan is X(formerly known as Twitter) expressed disappointment but said they were fully prepared to cheer on the team from overseas.

“Today, I am disappointed that I did not have the opportunity to represent our country on the Olympic stage,” Morgan wrote. “This event will always be dear to my heart and I feel great pride every time I put on the crest. I look forward to cheering on our team with the nation in less than a month.”

Morgan is one of the most prolific goal scorers in U.S. soccer history, men’s or women’s, and was part of the team that won its fourth gold medal at the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

Hayes, meanwhile, calmly made the decision to remove Morgan from the Olympic roster, citing Olympic roster numbers (teams are limited to 16 field players and two goalkeepers) and a desire to “go in a different direction.”

“Her record speaks for itself,” Hayes said of Morgan during a virtual press conference on Wednesday, “but I wanted to go in a different direction and pick someone else.”

The U.S. attack is made up of NWSL players who have enjoyed success with club and country this year: Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Crystal Dunn (Gotham FC), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars), Morgan’s former San Diego Wave teammate Jaidyn Shaw and, most notably, Sophia Smith, the latter of whom is considered by many to be the next in a long line of star forwards for the U.S. women’s national team over the years.

“I think the biggest factor is that we have 16 outfield players playing a lot of games in a 17-day period,” Hayes said, “but we have some guys in the forward areas that have been performing well so the decision to bring in those players was definitely something we thought about a lot.”

Hayes, who made his managerial debut on June 1, has only played two games against the same opponents in South Korea as he prepares for the Olympics and evaluates what he feels is a “well-balanced” squad.

Fans will get their first look at the Olympic roster later this month in warm-up matches against Mexico on July 13 (3:30 p.m. ET, TNT) and Costa Rica on June 16 (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT), before opening their group game against Zambia on July 25 in Nice, France (3 p.m. ET, USA Network).

“It’s essential to have players who can adapt. [as] “We have a short turnaround between games,” Hayes said. “Having players on the roster who can play multiple positions was important for our depth. We took into account all the factors we’ll need during the Olympics and I think we have a well-balanced roster. I’m really happy with it.”