Two-time World Cup champion Alex Morgan has revealed that she is pregnant with her second child and will retire from professional soccer. The 35-year-old star is set to play her final match on Sunday, leading her San Diego Wave team against the North Carolina Courage in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Regarded as one of the best players in the history of the US women’s national team, Morgan concluded her international career with an impressive tally of 123 goals. She previously played a brief stint in the Women’s Super League with Tottenham in 2020.
In a heartfelt announcement on social media, Morgan shared her decision, expressing, “I have so much clarity about this decision and I’m so happy to finally tell you. It has been a long time coming, and this decision wasn’t easy. At the beginning of 2024, I felt in my heart and soul that this was the last season I would play soccer.”
Morgan played a pivotal role in the US women’s teams that clinched the World Cup in 2015 and 2019, and she also secured Olympic gold in London in 2012. Off the pitch, she was a key advocate in the fight for equal pay in women’s sports.
Although she was not part of the squad for this summer’s Paris Olympics, where Team USA ultimately won gold, Morgan leaves an immense legacy in women’s soccer.
The athlete gave birth to her first child, daughter Charlie, on May 7, 2020. With her goal against Brazil on February 22, 2023, Morgan became the all-time leader in USWNT goals scored by a mother, reaching 14.
In her message, she shared her excitement for her growing family: “This is also not the retirement video I expected when I initially thought I was going to do this, because Charlie is going to be a big sister. I’m pregnant, and as unexpected as this came, we are so overjoyed.”
