Alex Morgan is going back to where it all began. On 6 October, 2010, the USA icon scored the first of an incredible 123 international goals after coming off the bench in a friendly against China PR at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, to salvage a 1-1 draw.
It was a classy finish from the precocious 21-year-old — who starred at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Chile 2008™ — as she brushed off a Chinese defender to meet a header from Abby Wambach and coolly slotted the ball into the top left-hand corner.
Morgan was made for the moment. Just a month later, she became an instant hero by finding the target in the fourth minute of added time to give the Stars and Stripes an invaluable 1-0 victory over Italy in the first leg of a play-off for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011™.
The forward’s rapid rise continued as she emerged as the breakout star of USA at that global finals, scoring the opening goal against Japan in the decider which they lost on penalties, before going on to win back-to-back World Cups and cementing her status as one of women’s football’s greatest goal-getters.
To coincide with the 15th anniversary of the goal that helped propel Morgan into football immortality — and a year after she hung up her boots — the 36-year-old is being honoured by an official retirement ceremony by US Soccer prior to the Stars and Stripes’ friendly against Portugal on Thursday.
Ahead of the honour, Morgan spoke to FIFA about her iconic tea-sipping celebration against England at France 2019, scoring her landmark 100th international goal and her reflections upon her career.
Alex Morgan: When I was at university I got called up to the U-20 national team and my goal was always to make the senior team. I remember the head coach of the national team, Pia Sundhage, went to the final of the (2008 U-20 Women’s World Cup) and I scored. I felt in that moment that it was inevitable that I would get a call-up but I didn’t know when. So I started doing extra training and started planning out the rest of my university semester to make sure I could graduate early enough so I could go with the national team to the World Cup.
I ended up graduating in three and a half years and when I got the call-up with the national team in December 2009, I was given the confidence by Pia, Abby Wambach and a few others to just be myself and not try to change the player I was to fit into a particular system on a team.
That really helped so once I got to the 2011 World Cup, I felt like even if I got five minutes or 15 off the bench I was going to make the most of it. It took a bit to work my way into the World Cup. I didn’t get my first goal until the semi-final against France but I felt like I did as much as I could as a sub on that team.
It was one of the most incredible moments… I probably don’t talk about it enough because of what followed quickly, which was a devastating loss for us. In that moment, I felt that we had won it and I had helped my team win the World Cup. I can remember seeing exactly where I wanted to place the ball and doing that and the celebration that I had with Abby.
At 2015, I entered the tournament on the back of an injury so I wasn’t exactly 90 minutes game fit, I had to work my way into that throughout the tournament but was fortunate to have a coach that valued me in Jill Ellis. Then into 2019 being named one of the captains and feeling like I was at a time where I could really lead the team, it felt like us as a team were really dominant in that moment…
2015 was incredible moment because we hadn’t won in such a long time and in 2019, it felt dominant from start to finish and we felt really confident in ourselves; knowing each game we were going to come out on top regardless of if we had a call go against us or if we had a penalty saved or a goal taken away. For example, we played France in Paris in the quarter-finals and the crowd was so loud and chanting for France and against us but we felt like we were going to end up on top.
I didn’t think too much into it before the game. I always have my coffee before the game and I was sipping it and put my pinkie up as the camera was on me and thought that would be a pretty funny celebration given that we were playing England and their real love for tea. I put it in the back of my head and when I scored it just naturally came out. As much of a goalscorer as I am, I don’t celebrate in big fashion, I don’t plan out big celebrations. I’m not that type of player so that was a surprising thing that I did off the cuff and ended up being very controversial especially with the British fans. It is also one of my favourite moments because it is so talked about and it is also used time and time again throughout all different sports both men and women.
I was really surprised about how many opinions people had on a celebration. But the tournament felt like from start to finish something that people wanted to talk about and have an opinion on. Even starting from the first game against Thailand and we won 13-0, people were asking, ‘How could they score that many goals against a team? They shouldn’t be doing that.’ But it was a World Cup and we’re going to score as many goals as we can possibly score. And then all the way to the tea celebration and opinions about Megan Rapinoe so this was another layer. It was important for us to stay steady in the tournament and in that moment people want something to talk about and bring you down, especially as we had the confidence going into the final, so it was a little bit surprising to hear the reaction. But I would never do it differently.
I’m really proud of the entirety of my career and the things I was able to accomplish. I think a lot of people think my career as at the top year after year, but it’s just not true. I had a lot of years where I was either injured, or was out being pregnant, or not being called up by the coach or the starting spot. But behind the scenes I was grinding and forcing my way back in. I was working hard when it came to injuries and coming back from pregnancy, so it wasn’t a linear path by any means.
I’m really proud of the way I kept working my way back and forcing my way in and kept remaining within the squad, which for the most part maintained that No1 (FIFA/Coca-Cola) ranking. There wasn’t anything I would change and I was really happy with the way it played out. When I took that step to retire, I was able to truly embrace that because I felt like I didn’t leave anything on the table when it came to football.
My 100th goal that I scored in front of my family with the national team in Denver was a long time coming. People can play all their whole lives and not get 100 goals, especially with their national team. So being able to reach that milestone was really incredible to celebrate with my family. To see the ball go in the net for the 100th time representing my country, it’s things that most people only dream of so to live that was an amazing thing.
I always want to stay involved, especially with the (NWSL’s) San Diego Wave and I am part of the ownership group and intend to have an active role. I am continuing to stay active in other ways, like my media company, which is called Togethxr. We focus on women’s sports and highlight female athletes in general. There are always threads that keep me busy and connected to the sport. I also have a foundation which is a vehicle for girls to gain self-esteem and confidence, with girls’ empowerment camps.
