The spotlight is always on Alex Morgan but will be more so in the 2023 NWSL season than in the past few years, with the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup around the corner.

The World Cup that will take place in Australia and New Zealand will start on July 21, and players will report with their national teams as early as late June.

Morgan has been a part of two World Cup-winning teams with the United States (2015, 2019) as the USWNT will yet again be one of the top contenders in 2023.

The 33-year-old phenom has participated in three World Cups and has scored nine goals throughout these competitions, including six in the 2019 edition of the tournament.

Alex Morgan is undoubtedly the most famous female athlete in the United States and is the most notable figure in United States soccer in general. The San Diego Wave captain will have immense pressure leading up to the World Cup as she is expected to be one of the key players on the United States’ offense in the global competition this summer.

However, Morgan is no stranger to this pressure and is coming off a very successful season with the San Diego Wave, as she scored a league-leading 16 goals in the NWSL. The San Dimas, Calif. native had an amazing 2022 calendar year in general as she finished second in the FIFA The Best voting to FC Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas. With the USWNT in 2022, the San Diego Wave star scored three goals in four games in the CONCACAF Women’s Championship and a goal in six friendly games.

In 2023, Morgan already has some games with the USWNT under her belt as she scored a goal and had two assists in the SheBelives cup, which the United States won. The 33-year-old has only played one friendly game with the USWNT in 2023, but she scored in the USA’s 4-0 win against New Zealand in Wellington.

Morgan’s form in the 2023 season will be more of a trending topic than it ever has in her 2023 season, with every game, every minute, counting down to the World Cup. Then there will be the post-World Cup mania that will bring in even more fans throughout NWSL stadiums, as Morgan is surely to make several more lifetime fans in Australia and New Zealand. The world will be looking at the San Diego Wave before and after the World Cup as we bare witness to one of the best to do it, possibly playing her last World Cup in the summer.

Alex Morgan’s road to the World Cup begins this Saturday, March 25, at Snapdragon Stadium as the Wave hosts the Chicago Red Stars. The Wave will play two consecutive games at home as the next game after the season-opener is at Snapdragon against the North Carolina Courage on April 1.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.