Alex Morgan left out of USWNT squad for Concacaf W Gold Cup

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 begins on February 17 and the US will play either Guyana or the Dominican Republic on February 20 in Carson, California. The USWNT will then play Argentina on February 23 and conclude the group stage with a match against Mexico three days later. The tournament ends on March 10.

Interim manager Twila Kilgore, who will remain in charge while new coach Emma Hayes completes the WSL season at Chelsea, has named a youthful squad of 23 players. Teenagers Olivia Moultrie and Jaedyn Shaw were included in the roster, but veterans Morgan and Becky Sauerbrunn were left out.

Kilgore said the Gold Cup will give younger players the opportunity to experience a tournament similar to the Olympic format. The USWNT has qualified for this year’s Paris Games.

“No one is left out of the mix,” Kilgore said. “That’s true for some of our bigger names, that’s also true for smaller names that we’ve been following. We want to do it right, and everyone is still involved. This is more about the fact that we can only have 23 people on the roster, and as we head towards the Olympics, only 18. We simply can’t include everyone and this is the group that we think is the right group . now and who we should be looking at in this tournament.”

Mallory Swanson returns to the national team, but is not yet ready to play a match. Swanson, who injured her left knee last April and missed the Women’s World Cup, will train with the United States for the first Gold Cup, but she will not play in tournament matches.

Swanson scored seven goals in six games when she injured her knee in a match against Ireland in the build-up to the World Cup. The injury to her patellar 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 ruled out because of a minor back injury, Kilgore said.

“We believe she is absolutely ready for this step,” Kilgore said of Swanson’s participation. “She’s just a really important leader on this team. She has stayed connected and engaged in many ways during her recovery and this is just the next natural progression.”

Twenty-one players named in the Concacaf W Gold Cup squad played for the USWNT in their December camp, with two wins over China.

Full USWNT roster for Concacaf W Gold Cup

Goalkeepers: Jane Campbell, Houston Dash; Casey Murphy, North Carolina Courage; Alyssa Naeher, Chicago Red Stars

Defenders: Seattle Gov. Alana Cook; Abby Dahlkemper, San Diego Wave; Crystal Dunn, NJ/NY Gotham; Tierna Davidson, NJ/NY Gotham; Emily Fox, Armory; Naomi Girma, San Diego Wave; Casey Krueger, Washington Ghost; Jenna Nighswonger, NY/NJ Gotham

Midfielders: Korbin Albert, Paris Saint Germain; Sam Coffey, Portland Thorns; Lindsey Horan, Lyons; Rose Lavelle, NJ/NY Gotham; Olivia Moultrie, Portland Thorns; Emily Sonnett, NJ/NY Gotham

Forward: 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