'They’re going to go far' - USWNT legend Alex Morgan backs USMNT to make World Cup run

Call it national pride, blind optimism, or whatever else fits, but Morgan is all in on the USMNT this summer.

She has seen enough tournament soccer to know how quickly things can shift. Across 224 caps and 123 goals for the USWNT, Morgan won two World Cups, an Olympic gold medal, and an Olympic bronze medal, experiencing just about every version of life on the international stage along the way. So when she looks at this U.S. men’s team, she sees enough quality - and enough attacking options - to believe they can make a real run.

“I think that the men’s team has really good depth, and I think they have a lot of different options for threats on goal,” she said. “So I think that there are a lot of positives for this team, for sure. I think their last game against Germany was really a good step forward, and I honestly feel like they’re going to go far.”

Morgan won’t just be watching from afar, either. Based in San Diego with her family, she has concrete plans to be there in person for the USMNT’s group stage games in Los Angeles.

“I’m going to try and make as many games as I can,” Morgan said, “but we’ll start with LA on Friday.”

No one knows exactly what Pochettino’s first XI will look like against Paraguay. That is part of the intrigue. But Morgan is not just looking at the starters. She is looking at the full group, and she believes the USMNT have enough options to evolve as the tournament goes on.

That matters in a World Cup, where one lineup rarely carries a team all the way through. Opponents change. Game states change. Injuries, cards and form all become part of the equation. For Morgan, the strength of this U.S. team is that Pochettino should have different ways to solve those problems.

“I’m really interested to see exactly who the 11 they’re gonna go with, and how then throughout the group stage that kind of morphs a little bit, because it always does,” she said. “I think that they have good depth in the back line, with their wing backs, with their forward line too, and just with their midfielders being very attacking-minded as well. They can score goals in all different ways.”

That is why Friday matters so much. The USMNT do not need to answer every question in one match, but Morgan believes they do need to set the tone early. In a home World Cup, with all the pressure and emotion that comes with it, easing into the tournament is not really an option.

When Morgan was playing, criticism was part of the job. She had to take it head-on, handle it with grace, and then perform anyway. Now, with some distance from the field, she finds herself watching World Cup buildup with a little more optimism and a little less tension.

“I think I’m just a lot more optimistic than maybe I was as a player,” Morgan said. “I was always trying to tune out the noise, but obviously, seeing all the criticism come, it’s really hard to just not look.”

That perspective feels fitting for this USMNT group. The build toward 2026 has had its bumps, from uneven moments in 2025 to a March camp that left questions about form, preparation and whether the team was trending in the right direction. But Morgan has been around enough major tournaments to know the outside noise does not always tell the full story.

“As I’ve gone through it many times, I’ve seen a lot of what’s been written and said about the men,” Morgan said. “Saying they’re not prepared or the guys aren’t peaking at the right time, or that an individual player hasn’t played well. There’s just a lot of criticism, and I’ve kind of been on it from the inside.

“And I’m just like, well, you don’t want to peak early. Each individual doesn’t have to actually be at their very best six months leading into a tournament or having the best season leading into the World Cup.”

For Morgan, that is the beauty - and chaos - of a World Cup.

A player can struggle in the build-up and still become the story of the tournament. A team can arrive with questions and leave with belief. And as much as Morgan understands the criticism that comes with the stage, she also knows how quickly one game, one moment or one goal can change everything.

“I think for me, I’m just now way more optimistic,” Morgan said. “Things can change so quickly in a tournament, for better or for worse, but I feel really good about this.”