Bill Simmons believes that Alex Morgan is not a superstar and has never been one, especially following the disappointing performance of the U.S. women’s national team at the Women’s World Cup.
Despite being the team’s striker, Morgan has struggled to score goals in recent World Cup games, with only two goals in the last 17 matches, excluding the Thailand game.
“She’s never been a superstar.”
Simmons argues that Morgan’s lack of consistent goal production on the national level contradicts her reputation as a dangerous and prolific player.
“If you take away that Thailand game, she has scored two goals in the last 17 World Cup games. This is the striker. This is the one whose supposed to be the most dangerous player on the field. Who is supposed to produce goals and she hasn’t produced goals since the mid-2010’s on the national level. And yet it’s Alex Morgan. She’s supposed to be the next one. We gotta keep proping her up, pretending she’s a superstar. She’s not a superstar. She’s really, honestly never been a superstar,” he said of Morgan.
He suggests that Morgan has been upheld as the future superstar of the team, but in reality, she has not lived up to that expectation.
On the other hand, Simmons praises 37-year-old Megan Rapinoe for her storied career and legendary status but acknowledges that age has caught up with her in soccer.
“Then you have Rapinoe who is 37 years old who’s just, unfortunately, great career, legendary, true legend, huge bigtime player, and when you hit your late-30’s in soccer, it’s a wrap. She looked like Udonis Rapinoe, not Megan Rapinoe, and comes out for the last 25 minutes of this game and can’t do anything then misses the penalty kick.”
Bill Simmons on Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe pic.twitter.com/IxjqTmZWVW
— Stephen Douglas (@Stephen_Douglas) August 7, 2023
He describes Rapinoe’s late-game performance in the knockout round against Sweden as underwhelming and believes that her missed penalty kick exemplifies her decline. Rapinoe has announced her retirement, but Morgan has expressed her intention to continue playing for the national team.
Considering the performance and trajectory of both players, Simmons wonders if it is time for the U.S. women’s national team to explore different options and move in a different direction.
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