USWNT roster news: Alex Morgan ruled out of England, Spain friendlies

By Laken Litman
FOX Sports Soccer Writer

Alex Morgan has been ruled out of two upcoming U.S. women’s national team friendlies against England and Spain due to a knee injury.

On Thursday, USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski released his latest 24-player roster for friendly matches in Europe — on Oct. 7 at Wembley Stadium in London against reigning EURO Champion England and then on Oct. 11 at El Sadar Stadium in Pamplona against Spain.

Like the U.S., both England and Spain have already qualified for the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

“These are big tests for our team in front of crowds cheering against us and after long travel, but our players absolutely love games like these,” Andonovsk said in a statement. “The group we are bringing to Europe includes players who have a lot of experience against top European teams and some that don’t, so these games are even more critical for our growth as our team. Our whole squad needs to get a clear picture of what these games are like as we continue to prepare for the World Cup.”

The other big news in addition to Morgan being sidelined is that defender Crystal Dunn, who trained with the USWNT during its September FIFA window but was not technically on the roster for those games against Nigeria, makes her first full training camp roster since giving birth to her son in May.

Additionally, due to Morgan’s absence, 17-year-old Alyssa Thompson gets the opportunity to make her senior national team debut. Thompson played for the US at this year’s U-20 World Cup in Costa Rica where she scored a goal and had an assist. Thompson, who is a senior in high school, plays for the U-17 Total Futbol Academy boys’ team in MLS NEXT.

The match against England in Wembley Stadium will be played in front of a sold out crowd — the maximum capacity fits more than 80,000. U.S. Soccer expects this to be the second-largest crowd ever to watch the USWNT, coming in behind the 90,185 fans who witnessed the 1999 World Cup final at the Rose Bowl.

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously covered college football, college basketball, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team and the Olympics at Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. Her first book, written in partnership with Rizzoli and Sports Illustrated and titled “Strong Like a Woman,” was published in spring 2022 marking the 50th anniversary of Title IX.