Alex Morgan

As a leader of the USWNT at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, Morgan scored five goals in the opening group game against Thailand to equal the World Cup single-game goals record set by Michelle Akers in 1991. Morgan also registered three assists in the game. The team's 13–0 scoreline set a new record for margin of victory in a World Cup match. On July 2, 2019, Morgan became the first woman to score a world cup goal on her birthday, in a 2−1 win over England to reach the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup Final. In the final on July 7, Morgan helped win a penalty that was later converted by Megan Rapinoe to open the scoring, as the United States defeated the Netherlands 2–0. Morgan was awarded the tournament's Silver Boot; finishing as the joint-top scorer with six goals but losing out to Megan Rapinoe on a fewest minutes tiebreaker.

Due to the ACL injury that slowed her progress in 2007, Morgan was not called up to train with the United States under-20 women's national soccer team until April 2008. Her first appearance for the under-20 team occurred during the 2008 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship in Puebla, Mexico, where she scored her first international goal against Cuba.

Morgan was named to the United States U-20 women's national team that competed in the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Chile, scoring a total of four goals in the tournament against France, Argentina and North Korea. Morgan's fourth goal of the tournament was a match-winner that gave the U.S. a gold medal, which was subsequently voted the best goal of the tournament, and later FIFA's second-best goal of the year. Her performance on the field earned her the Bronze Shoe as the tournament's third-highest scorer and the Silver Ball as the tournament's second-best player behind teammate Sydney Leroux.

She has been capped by the senior national team, first appearing as a substitute in a match versus Mexico in March 2010, and scored her first international goal after coming on as a substitute against China, which salvaged a 1–1 draw in October 2010. Her most important goal to date came a month later in a crucial road match against Italy. After entering the match in the 86th minute, she scored in the fourth minute of added time to give the United States a 1–0 victory over Italy in the first leg of a playoff to qualify for the final spot for the Women's World Cup.

On January 14, 2011, Morgan was the first overall pick in the 2011 WPS Draft by the Western New York Flash. She was the first Cal player to be drafted in the first round of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). Morgan scored her first goal for the Flash during the team's home opener—a 3–0 win over the Atlanta Beat on May 1, 2011. Throughout the 2011 season, she played in 14 matches and scored four goals. The club won the regular season title and the WPS Championship title the same year.

Morgan was the youngest player on the U.S. national team that placed second in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. On July 13, 2011, she scored her first FIFA Women's World Cup goal in the 82nd minute of the semi-final matchup against France, giving the USA a 3–1 lead and ultimately, the victory. She scored the first goal (69') in the FIFA World Cup Final against Japan after coming on as a substitute at the half, as well as assisting on the Abby Wambach header (104') for a goal in extra time. Her performance made her the first player to ever record a goal and an assist in a World Cup final. Morgan finished eighth in the balloting for the 2011 FIFA World Player of the Year.

In 2011, Morgan co-starred with national teammate Hope Solo in a television commercial promoting ESPN's SportsCenter. Morgan and teammate Carli Lloyd were guests on Live with Kelly and Michael following the 2012 Summer Olympics in September 2012. In 2013, Morgan appeared in the ESPN documentary series, Nine for IX. The Nine for IX documentary, The 99ers, in which she appeared focused on the success and legacy of the national team squad that won the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. In January 2015, she guest-starred on an episode of Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn entitled The Quad Test. In April 2015, Morgan joined Abby Wambach on American Idol to announce that the show's season winner would record the official song for Fox's coverage of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. In May of the same year, her likeness appeared on The Simpsons along with Christen Press and Abby Wambach. Morgan was a presenter at the 2015 ESPY Awards and received an ESPY with her teammates for Best Team. In 2018, Morgan made an appearance in the music video for the Maroon 5 song "Girls Like You", which features Cardi B. She was joined by fellow athletes Danica Patrick, Aly Raisman and Chloe Kim who also appeared in the video. In June 2018, Morgan made her acting debut in the direct-to-video film Alex & Me with co-star Siena Agudong, where she portrays a poster of herself who comes to life.

After the WPS later suspended operations in early 2012 due to legal and financial difficulties, Morgan joined her national teammates Hope Solo, Sydney Leroux, Megan Rapinoe and Stephanie Cox on the Seattle Sounders Women for the 2012 season. Of her signing, Morgan said, "I am excited to play in a city that is so passionate about soccer. The Sounders have been one of, if not the best fan support in MLS. I can only imagine how Seattle fans would respond to having a full professional women's team in the future."

Morgan did not become a starter for the U.S. until the fifth match of the year in January, the final of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament. She scored twice and provided two assists to Wambach that day, in a 4–0 win over the Canadian hosts and has become a regular starter ever since. Between January and late May 2012, Morgan scored 14 goals in a 12-match stretch including a sequence of three straight two-goal efforts on January 29, February 11 and 29. She earned her first career hat-trick on March 7, 2012, during a 4–0 victory against Sweden in the third-place match of the Algarve Cup. In June 2012, she was nominated for an ESPY Award as the Best Breakthrough Athlete.

Morgan scored the winning goal in the Olympic semi-final match against Canada in extra time, sending the United States to the gold medal match against Japan. Her goal came in the 123rd minute, the latest goal ever scored by a member of the U.S. women's team and a FIFA record. The goal continued her propensity for late heroics in the closing stages of matches. Seventeen of her 28 total goals to date have come after the 60th minute. The match-winning goal was Morgan's team-high 20th in 2012, becoming only the sixth and youngest U.S. player to do so in a single year. In the final, a 2–1 win against Japan on August 9, Morgan assisted on a Carli Lloyd header. She ended the tournament with three goals, and a team-high four assists (tied with Megan Rapinoe) and ten points (tied with Rapinoe and Wambach). To celebrate her achievements, she was honored at her former high school and the No. 13 jersey was retired.

In 2012, Morgan led the U.S. in goals (28), multi-goal matches (9), assists (21) and points (77). Her calendar year goals, assists and points totals are the third-best, tied second-best (one tally shy of record), and second-best, respectively, in USWNT history. Morgan joined an exclusive club as she and Hamm are the only USWNT players to record at least 20 goals and 20 assists in the same calendar year and became only the third and youngest player to reach 20 assists in a calendar year. Morgan and Wambach combined for 55 goals in 2012 – matching a 21-year-old record set in 1991 by Michelle Akers (39 goals) and Carin Jennings (16 goals) as the most goals scored by any duo in USWNT history. She had either scored or assisted on 41 percent of the USA's 120 goals this year. And, by herself, she comfortably out-scored and out-assisted her opponents, who combined for 21 goals and 12 assists in 32 matches against the U.S.

In 2012, Morgan signed with Simon & Schuster to pen The Kicks, a four-book series for middle schoolers. The series is focused on four young girls and features themes of friendship, leadership, and soccer. In a statement released by the publisher, Morgan said she wanted her books to "inspire young girls" and "celebrate" her love of soccer. The first novel, Saving The Team was released on May 14, 2013, followed by the second novel, Sabotage Season, on September 3, 2013. Saving the Team debuted at number seven on The New York Times Best Seller list for Children's Middle Grade. In 2015, a live-action kids comedy series based on the books, called The Kicks, began airing on Amazon Prime.

Morgan has been featured in a number of magazines. In the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, she appeared in a section composed of athletes in body paint. She was featured in the 2013 music issue of ESPN The Magazine replicating Katy Perry's One of the Boys album cover. In May 2015, Morgan was featured on the cover of ESPN Magazine with teammates Abby Wambach and Sydney Leroux. The same year, she appeared on multiple covers of Sports Illustrated before and after winning the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. She appeared for a second time in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2015. Morgan posed for one of the three 2019 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue covers, the other cover models being Tyra Banks and Camille Kostek. She has appeared on the covers of Health and Self magazines. She has been featured in Shape, Vogue, Elle, Time, and Fortune.

On January 11, 2013, Morgan was one of three U.S. national team players to join the Portland Thorns FC for the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League via the NWSL Player Allocation. She scored her first goal for the Thorns during the team's home-opener at Jeld-Wen Field in front of 16,479 spectators helping her team defeat the Seattle Reign FC 2–1. She finished the regular season as the team's point leader, and joint scoring leader (with Christine Sinclair), with eight goals and five assists (21 points). The club finished third during the regular season led by head coach Cindy Parlow Cone. On August 31, 2013, Portland captured the league's inaugural championship title after defeating regular season champions Western New York Flash 2–0; Morgan assisted on the second goal. Morgan was named to the NWSL Second XI on August 28.

At the 2013 Algarve Cup, Morgan shared top-scoring honors. She finished the competition with four assists and three goals, including the equalizer against Sweden that advanced the U.S. to the final and the two goals against Germany that won the championship. She previously won the tournament's golden boot in 2011. On June 2, 2013, Morgan scored two-second-half goals as the U.S. defeated Canada 3–0 in front of a sold-out crowd in Toronto. This was the first match between USA and Canada since the epic semi-final of the 2012 Olympic Games. Morgan was named to her third appearance on the 10-player short list for FIFA Women's World Player of the Year in 2013 and finished fourth in the voting. For the inaugural CONCACAF Awards, she was recognized as the CONCACAF 2013 Female Player of the Year. And as a part of U.S. Soccer's celebration of its Centennial anniversary the Federation revealed the US Soccer's All-Time Women's National Team Best XI, she was youngest player selected at 24 years old.

Morgan had a return of five goals in seven matches for the USWNT in 2014 after returning from injury before she reinjured her ankle at the 2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship, which ruled her out for the rest of tournament.

Morgan married soccer player Servando Carrasco on December 31, 2014. The pair met at UC Berkeley where they both played soccer. In October 2019, the couple announced they were expecting a baby girl in April 2020. Their daughter, Charlie Elena Carrasco, was born on May 7, 2020.

During the 2015 season, Morgan made four appearances for the Thorns due to her national team commitments at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. She scored one goal during a 3–3 draw against the Washington Spirit on August 31. The Thorns finished in sixth place during the regular season with a 6–9–5 record.

On October 26, 2015, it was announced that the Thorns had traded Morgan, along with teammate Kaylyn Kyle, to an expansion team Orlando Pride in exchange for the Pride's number one picks in the 2015 NWSL Expansion Draft and 2016 NWSL College Draft as well as an international roster spot for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Morgan scored four goals in her 15 appearances for the Pride. The club finished in ninth place during the regular season with a 6–13–1 record led by head coach Tom Sermanni.

Morgan scored in a 1–0 friendly win over England in February upon her return to the international fold. She was part of the USWNT that won its tenth Algarve Cup in 2015. She scored in the 3–0 defeat of Switzerland.

Morgan has signed several endorsement deals with businesses including Nike, Panasonic, AT&T, Chobani, McDonald's, P&G, Mondelez International, and Coca-Cola. Time named Morgan the highest paid American women's soccer player in June 2015 attributed mostly to her endorsement deals. In July 2011, she signed a one-year endorsement deal with Bank of America. In January 2012, Morgan and national teammate Heather Mitts became brand ambassadors for health product company, GNC. The same year, she made appearances on behalf of Ubisoft promoting the launch of their video game, Just Dance 4. In 2013, she appeared in television commercials for Bridgestone. She joined a two-year partnership as the spokesperson for ChapStick in October 2013. In 2015, she starred in a Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company commercial that was broadcast nationwide in the United States. She appeared in commercials for Chobani in 2016. In July 2018, Morgan joined the team of ambassadors at Molecule, an athlete recovery mattress and bedding company.

In July 2015, Morgan, and her Portland Thorns teammates Christine Sinclair and Steph Catley became the first female athletes to appear on the cover of EA Sports' latest FIFA video game, FIFA 16. Morgan, Sinclair, and Catley were chosen to appear on its region-specific packaging in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, respectively, alongside Lionel Messi, who appears in worldwide versions of the game. FIFA 16 was the first edition of the franchise to include women's international teams in the game. In FIFA 19, Morgan was featured throughout The Journey as an interactive character and is credited with a voice role. She was also consulted by EA to help give insight and shape the world of Kim Hunter, the game mode's playable female character.

At the first SheBelieves Cup competition in March 2016, an invitational four-team tournament consisted of England, France, Germany and the United States, Morgan was awarded the Golden Boot and the MVP award. She scored in victories against France and Germany as the USWNT won the tournament with three wins from three. Morgan scored eight goals during her first nine appearances of 2016.

In 2016, Morgan joined UNICEF Kid Power as a UNICEF Kid Power Champion, in an effort to fight global malnutrition and as well as raise awareness among kids, via the world's first "wearable for good", created by UNICEF.

Although the name is rarely used any more, Morgan was given the nickname "Baby Horse" by her teammates on the U.S. women's national team for her speed, running style, and youth. Morgan received the key to the city of Diamond Bar, her hometown, on January 24, 2016.

On January 5, 2017, Morgan signed with French champions Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) for a reported $33,000 per month. The six-month contracted included a mutual option for an additional season.

Morgan made her 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League debut in the first leg of the quarterfinals on March 23 during the team's 2–0 win over VfL Wolfsburg. On June 1, she started in the 2017 UEFA Women's Champions League Final but subbed off after 23 minutes due to the hamstring injury. Lyon won the match after a penalty shootout.

Following the Champions League Final, the Pride announced Morgan's addition to their 2017 active roster on June 21, 2017, waiving Christina Burkenroad to make room on the 20-player roster. After recovering from the hamstring injury she suffered in the final, Morgan made her competitive return for Orlando on July 1 against the Chicago Red Stars. Morgan scored nine goals in fourteen games for Orlando in 2017, and the team achieved an 11–6–7 record. On October 7, Morgan played the entirety of the Pride's first ever NWSL playoff match, a 4–1 loss to the eventual champions Portland Thorns FC. Following the season's end, Morgan was named to the league's 2017 Second XI.

In 2017, Morgan and her husband, Carrasco, traveled to Tanzania as Sports Envoys with the U.S. State Department's Sports Diplomacy Office. In Tanzania, the couple hosted soccer clinics and visited schools, contributing to Sports Diplomacy's mission to promote gender equality and inclusion through sport.

In September 2017, Morgan and U.S. teammate Megan Rapinoe were the first two female players in the United States to sign up for the Common Goal campaign, created by Juan Mata of Manchester United, wherein players donate 1% of their wages to support soccer-related charities.

Although her contract with Lyon included an option for a return in 2018, Morgan announced in September 2017 that she would terminate the contract and instead return to Orlando for the start of the] 2018 season. The team failed to match the success of its 2017 campaign, finishing seventh out of nine teams in the league with a record of 8–10–6. Morgan played in nineteen games for the Pride, contributing five goals over the course of the season.

In 2018, Morgan won US Soccer's Female Player of the Year award. She was nominated alongside Julie Ertz, Tobin Heath, Lindsey Horan and Megan Rapinoe.

In October 2019 she announced she was pregnant, eventually giving birth in May 2020. Morgan missed the early-summer 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup tournament held following the disruption of the season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. She returned to training with the Pride in early September ahead of the Fall Series, the September–October slate of games scheduled for the end of the season.

On September 12, 2020, Morgan signed with English FA Women's Super League team Tottenham Hotspur. The contract reportedly runs from September through December 2020, with an option to extend the deal through the end of the 2020–21 FA WSL season in May 2021. Orlando retained Morgan's NWSL rights. Still trying to regain fitness having not played since August 2019 and giving birth in May 2020, Morgan eventually made her Spurs debut on November 7, 2020, appearing as a 69th minute substitute in a 1–1 WSL draw against Reading. On 14 November Morgan was named in the starting elven for the first time against Bristol City, However due to not playing much she was taken off at half-time in the game in which Tottenham would draw 2-2.