Algarve Cup 2012 Schedule: Alex Morgan Must Become Team USA’s Top Target

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at Internationaled.org

Published: March 1, 2012

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Abby Wambach has been the focal point of the United States' offensive attack for a long time. The veteran striker has carried the team on her back for an extended period, but it's time for Alex Morgan to step up and assume that role at the Algarve Cup.

Morgan, a 22-year-old striker from California, scored two goals in the team's opening game against Denmark on Wednesday. The tallies brought her total to 18 in 33 career caps for the national team, still well behind Wambach's 132, which are behind only Mia Hamm in team history.

Wambach is nearing the end of her peak years, though. At 31, her production can be expected to steadily decline in the coming years after all the miles her legs have logged throughout her career begin to catch up with her.

She's been one of the sport's most dominant players in the air, regularly using her head to score key goals for Team USA. The most famous, of course, was at last year's World Cup against Brazil, when she literally saved the squad with a late header.

In the championship match against Japan, however, the team became overly reliant on her leading to an upset. It's been a common theme in recent years, but there's no reason it needs to continue.



Morgan isn't as effective on crosses, but she's the best pure scorer on the roster. Her incredible pace, paired with terrific finishing ability, makes her potential virtually limitless. When given the opportunity to play, she's proven exactly that.

For the first time under manager Pia Sundhage, it appears she's going to be in the starting lineup consistently. It's the right decision, and it should have happened a long time ago, but better late than never.



She needs to use the Algarve Cup as a building block toward the Olympics this summer, where she could really become a superstar. Not a superstar simply in the sports sense, but in terms of becoming a celebrity.

While Morga...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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