Leading The Charge Down Under

On the morning of July 7 – two weeks before the U.S. Women’s National Team kicks off the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup against Vietnam (July 21 at 9 p.m. ET on FOX, Telemundo, Universo, Peacock) – midfielder Lindsey Horan and forward Alex Morgan were officially announced as team captains.

Horan, who made her World Cup debut in France in 2019, expressed her excitement to embrace her expanded role heading into her second World Cup.

“It was always a dream and goal of mine to, one, just be a consistent player with the National Team, but to also be a leader,” said Horan. “To wear the captain’s band is truly an honor, especially to be here with Alex. I think going into this tournament, there's just a new responsibility for me and it's not just focusing on me and making sure I'm my best every single day for this team, but also me and Alex making sure that everyone is prepared, ready and holding a standard and a level going into every single game.”

Morgan, who captained the USA three times during the 2019 World Cup and is headed to her fourth Women’s World Cup overall, cited the many leaders on the U.S. squad and the benefit to having multiple experienced voices in leadership positions.

“With two captains, I feel like it's a shared load,” noted Morgan. “And not only us, there's a lot of players who have stepped up in a position of leadership over the last years. I think the shared load makes it easier because we are in this together. There's no one player that needs to carry the load of everyone else.”

With the support of their 21 teammates in addition to the coaching and support staff, Morgan and Horan are primed to step out and shine once again on the sport’s biggest stage.