USWNT legend Alex Morgan announces her retirement: Two-time World Cup winner's last game this Sunday

Two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist Alex Morgan, a legend of the U.S. women's national team, announced her retirement on Thursday. Morgan released a video statement on her personal social media channels and revealed that Sunday will be her final match with San Diego Wave FC as they face the North Carolina Courage at 8 p.m. ET live on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network. In addition to retiring, she also announced that she and her husband are expecting their second child. 

Morgan has been a staple of the national team for decades and the 35-year-old spent nearly the entirety of her professional playing career in the United States with the NWSL.

"I'm gonna get to the point quickly. I'm retiring, and I have so much clarity about this decision, and I'm so happy to be able to finally tell you. It has been a long time coming, and this decision wasn't easy, but at the beginning of 2024, I felt in my heart and soul that this was the last season that I would play soccer. Soccer has been a part of me for 30 years, and it was one of the first things that I ever loved, and I gave everything to this sport, and what I got in return was more than I could have ever dreamed of," Morgan said in her video farewell.

The Wave FC forward has had to navigate a difficult 2024 with a lingering injury, limited goal-scoring, and the club's 12th-place standing in the league table. She was also, to the surprise of many, left off the 2024 Olympic roster. But Morgan also referenced an antidote with her four-year-old daughter Charlie, who ran up to her mom and told her she wanted to be a soccer player when she gets older. The long-time striker was reflective about the growth of the game and feels content at stepping away at this time. 

"It just made me, like immensely proud, not because I wish for her to become a soccer player when she grows up, but because a pathway exists that even a four-year-old can see now we're changing lives, and the impact we have on the next generation is irreversible, and I'm proud in the hand I had in making that happen, in pushing the game forward, in leaving it In a place I'm so happy and proud of," she said.

Here's how you can watch Alex Morgan's final Game:

How to watch Alex Morgan's final game

Date: Sunday, Sept. 8 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Snapdragon Stadium -- San Diego, California
Live stream: Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network

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