Despite Alex Morgan’s ankle sprain, the United States Women’s National Soccer team looks solid in the Women’s World Cup qualifiers.
Morgan is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after obtaining an ankle sprain during the U.S.’s 5-0 thrashing of the Guatemalan National Team in Fridays’ match at Toyota Park in Chicago, Illinois.
The USWNT coaching staff felt it would be a good idea to sit Morgan for the rest of the qualifiers to ensure she’s match fit in other soccer related activities later this year. Here is a statement from the USWNT coach, Jill Ellis on sitting Morgan.
“We certainly feel for Alex and of course having her go down is a big loss to our team, but as I’ve often said, one of our strengths is depth and everyone on the roster is prepared to step up,” U.S. Coach Jill Ellis said in a statement. “After talking with our medical staff and Alex, we all agreed that the best course of action for her is to head home to minimize travel and get into an environment where she can totally focus on recovery.”
The nice thing about the current state of this national team is the fact that they have a fairly stacked up roster.
With players like Tobin Heath, Carli Lloyd, Whitney Engen, the forward and midfield positions will be very flexible when substitutions need to be made. As for the rest of the qualifiers the U.S stand on top of CONCACAF in Group A after thrilling wins against Trinidad and Tobago,and Guatemala the only nation standing in the U.S’s way will be Haiti.
The Haitians currently stand in 3rd place in Group 3 with their only win against the Guatemalan National Team who currently are in last with 0 points. So if Ellis wanted too she could probably play a team of reserves and still have the luxury of sealing their trip to Canada for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Expect the United States to use this time for mental preparation as they work on building a stunning performance much like they did going to the final against Japan in 2011.
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