Alex Morgan is the most important player for the United States women's soccer team as it plays for the gold medal against Japan in the 2012 Olympic Games. Morgan has emerged as a critical player, as she has taken pressure off of Abby Wambach from a goal-scoring perspective.
Wambach has led the Americans for some time, but she has been alone in the goal scoring department. Enter Alex Morgan and suddenly Wambach has company and teams have to defend Morgan as much as they have to defend Wambach.
Morgan's emergence has taken pressure off of Wambach, and it has given the Americans a jolt of offense they desperately need. Morgan gives the Americans a two-tier punch that they have not had since Wambach was paired with Mia Hamm.
Dan Wetzel of yahoo.com reported that Morgan is on the threshold to soccer greatness and that Wambach is referring to Morgan as her partner in crime. The pair has eight goals in these Olympic Games.
Morgan has scored three goals in these Olympic Games, and she is riding high after scoring the game-winner against Canada in the semifinals. She scored in the last minute of extra time, and it was the most crucial goal of the tournament thus .
Morgan is a highly skilled player who plays a much faster game than Wambach. Wambach is a force, and she is always mixing it up and in the middle of the action because she is so physical. The duo makes a perfect pair, because they can challenge physically with Wambach and they can get fast, finesse play from Morgan.
The Japanese will have to decide what they want to take away in the gold medal game, because it won't be both of them. Look for the Japanese to allow Morgan to make plays on the outside and take away Wambach in the middle. Morgan has a chance to showcase her talent in this match, and she will use her speed to her advantage.
The Japanese beat the Americans in the 2011 World Cup in penalty kicks, and it is a loss that still stings. The Americans and the Japanese have a storied rivalry, but the memory of losing to Japan last year is something the Americans want to remove. The only way to do it is to beat them to win the gold medal.
Janie McCauley of huffingtonpost.com reported on Wambach's feelings about this game.
"I think the fact that we lost the World Cup and the way that we did gives us even more passion and desire to go out and perform tomorrow," Wambach said Wednesday. "The truth is, this is going to be a great day, a great day for soccer, a great day for women's sports, and something that hopefully we'll be able to remember for the rest of our lives – and hopefully it's in a good way."
Wambach also talked about the Japanese team and what the game means.
"The Japanese team is so good, and we are so good, that it's about the soccer," she said. "And that's what's going to be so awesome about tomorrow night. We're going to watch some beautiful soccer happen, we're going to see some amazing goals scored, and hopefully people will become legends tomorrow night."
Morgan has a chance to become the next massive star in women's soccer. This might be the night that we see Wambach pass the torch to Morgan, the same way that Wambach took the torch from Hamm in 2004.
Morgan is a 23-year-old budding star, and this might be Wambach's last go-around in international soccer. Wambach is 32 years old and the World Cup isn't played again until 2015.
The time is now for Morgan to shine, and there is an opportunity for her to become a country's hero today. Morgan can become the legend that Wambach is talking about, and she will with a great performance in the gold medal match.
