Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan will co-captain the United States Women’s National Team at the 2023 World Cup and officially step into the leadership vacuum created by injury to Becky Sauerbrunn.
Sauerbrunn had been the team’s captain and revered leader for several years, but a foot injury sidelined her from the World Cup roster and left her and her teammates. broken heart.
In his absence, Morgan, a 34-year-old striker, and Horan, a 29-year-old midfielder, will share Sauerbrunn’s duties. When they are both on the pitch, Horan will wear the captain’s armband, US Soccer said in an announcement on Friday.
Horan, at first glance, is a semi-surprising choice. She played in major international tournaments, but did not play there. She has far less experience, in every way, than Morgan and Megan Rapinoe – who co-captain the team in 2019.
But Horan has captained the team nine times since the fall of 2021, when head coach Vlatko Andonovski elevated her to a higher position. “Since then she has grown into a leader and has done a tremendous job,” Andonovski said late last month.
“When you look at the group we have now, Lindsey, Rose [Lavelle]Crystal [Dunn]it’s the next generation of leaders in this environment,” Andonovski continued. “Because everyone else is much younger, less experienced.” Out of that group, Andonovski chose Horan. It’s unclear whether Dunn was ever considered.
But he also opted to re-elevate Morgan, likely in hopes that the longtime USWNT veteran will take on some burdens. Horan, according to his teammates, is a leader by example and a much less confident public speaker. Morgan is more vocal and remains a face of the team. In that sense, the two co-captains are a perfect yin-yang match.
Rapinoe, meanwhile, is still on the roster, but is no longer a starter. She told Yahoo Sports late last month that she had made a “concerted effort” to hand over the limelight to the next generation.