American soccer player Alex Morgan, a two-time World Cup Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist, is considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time. At 22, she was the youngest player on the United States national team that placed second in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. That year, she became the first player to ever record a goal and an assist in a World Cup final.
Morgan started playing soccer at 14, when she joined Cypress Elite in San Dimas, California. She was a three-time all-league pick and was named All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. At 17, she made the U.S. Under-20 Women's National Soccer Team, whose primary role is the development of players in preparation for the senior women's squad.
After high school, she was drafted to play at the University of California at Berkeley, and after early graduation began her professional soccer career as the first pick for Western New York Flash. The club won the regular-season title and the Women’s Professional Soccer Championship title. Later, in 2012, Morgan joined the Seattle Sounders Women but was only able to participate in three matches because of her national team obligations and training for the upcoming Summer Olympics. Morgan also played for the Portland Thorns FC and the Orlando Pride.
The 2012 Summer Olympics in London saw Morgan score both the equalizer and winning goals, securing the win over France. Her performance on the field for the games that year earned her a nomination for the ESPY Award as the Best Breakthrough Athlete and the award for 2012 Female Athlete of the Year. The U.S. team won the gold medal that year.
While the team didn’t fare as well four years later in Rio, Morgan was awarded the Golden Boot and the MVP award. After a six-month contract with French champions Lyon, Morgan returned stateside and co-captained the Women's National Soccer Team from 2018 to 2020. She was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2019.