Alex Morgan knows the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) could have done more at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The team ended up winning the bronze medal, which is an improvement from their performance at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. But when PopCulture.com caught up with Morgan, she explained why the soccer team’s performance should have been better.
“I’m really proud of our team and of being able to come home with a bronze medal,” Morgan said to PopCulture.com. “Obviously, just coming home with the medal is quite an accomplishment, and is something that I’ll forever remember, and feel proud of showing that off. But at the same time, I feel like this team sets its own expectation at winning, at being the best, at winning gold. And so not being able to do that, I feel, is disappointing. I don’t feel like we were able to play our best. I don’t think anyone on our team played exceptionally well. I didn’t have the tournament that I was hoping for. So with that in mind, I wouldn’t say that we’re coming home feeling extremely satisfied.”
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The USWNT started the Olympics with a loss to Sweden. They then defeated New Zealand before earning a draw against Australia. After taking down the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, the U.S. fell to Canada in the semifinals. The U.S beat Australia 4-3 in the bronze medal game while Canada took down Sweden to take home gold.
This year’s Olympics were different due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Morgan said with no fans being able to attend the games, that played a big factor in the team’s performance. “It was everything,” she said. “It was almost the isolation piece. It was not having our families there. I’ve had my family travel to every major tournament to support me, and not having them there was really challenging. It was not being able to have my daughter there, who’s one year old, come with me and I haven’t been away from her for more than two days, let alone a month and a half. So everyone was dealing with a few things, and I think it was the culmination of all of those little details.”
The good news for Morgan is she is back with her husband, daughter and their two dogs. On Thursday, Morgan celebrated National Dog Day with Kona and Blue with the help of premium pet food company Stella & Chewy’s. For National Dog Day, Stella & Chewy’s created a special limited edition hat with all proceeds supporting shelter dogs in need. The brand is also hosting a “Best Day Ever” giveaway for five lucky parents to win a signed doggie soccer ball from Morgan, a Lucy & Co. gift card, and $100 worth of Stella & Chewy’s products.
“I got involved with Stella and Chewy’s quite a while ago, because of their passion for delivering premium pet food, but also to further a passion of giving shelter dogs at home,” Morgan stated. “I have two dogs in Kona and Blue, and they are a huge part of my family. I just love them so much. …I know we all live in a busy world, and a lot of times our dogs go forgotten for a few hours, or just we are super busy and don’t give them all the love that they deserve. So just want to put that on people’s radar.”
