Yahoo Finance USWNT's Alex Morgan makes Tottenham Hotspur debut
United States national team headliner Alex Morgan finally made her much-anticipated debut for Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday when she entered in the 69th minute of Spurs’ 1-1 Women’s Super League draw with Reading.
Morgan signed for the London club on loan from the Orlando Pride way back on Sept. 12. But the 31-year-old quickly determined that she had work to do to regain full fitness following the birth of her first child, daughter Charlie, in May.
Morgan was expected to be ready to make her maiden WSL appearance last month, but the occasion was delayed once again, that time by what she called a “small setback” in her recovery.
The two-time World Cup winner is the highest-profile American to leave the U.S.-based National Women’s Soccer League for England’s rapidly improving top flight, but she’s not the only one. Morgan’s fellow USWNT stars Tobin Heath, Rose Lavelle, Samantha Mewis and Christen Press — all members of the U.S. squad that repeated as world champs last year in France — are now plying their trade in the WSL, too. Lavelle and Mewis play for Manchester City. Heath and Press joined Manchester United, which beat a Morgan-less Spurs 1-0 Oct. 10.
Morgan replaced fellow forward Rianna Dean on Saturday:
Alex Morgan made her Spurs debut before the presidential election was called 🤷♀️ 🇺🇸
(via @BarclaysFAWSL)pic.twitter.com/lI8bvTDfuP— Yahoo Soccer (@FCYahoo) November 7, 2020
But while she was active in just over 20 minutes of action off the bench, Morgan — the joint top scorer (along with USWNT teammate Megan Rapinoe) at France 2019 — couldn’t help Tottenham find the game-winning goal on Saturday.
Still, the tie snapped Spurs’ three-game losing streak across all competitions. Tottenham now sits alone in ninth place in the 12-team WSL standings.
The club has yet to claim a victory through six league games so far this season, with Spurs’ only previous point coming in early September against West Ham. But With Morgan poised to take on a regular role, Spurs will be hoping to put that right when they travel to cellar-dwelling Bristol City next weekend.
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