Morgan: USA World Cup triumph motivates me, not golden boot

Alex Morgan is not troubled by her four-game goal drought because the United States winning the Women’s World Cup is a bigger priority to her than the Golden Boot.

The 29-year-old laid down an early marker to finish as the tournament’s top scorer with a five-goal haul in USA’s 13-0 mauling of Thailand in their first group game.

However, since then she has failed to find the target, not that USA have missed a beat thanks to back-to-back braces from Megan Rapinoe, which ensured Jill Ellis’ team progressed to Tuesday’s semi-final with England in Lyon.

Morgan, Rapinoe, Lionesses forward Ellen White and Australia’s Sam Kerr are all leading the Golden Boot race with five goals each yet the former insists she would sacrifice winning the individual prize for collective glory. 

“I would love someone on our team to win the Golden Boot, it would be a great accolade, but that’s not my goal, my goal is to help this team win a World Cup,” Morgan told a news conference on Sunday.

“As long as the goals continue to come then I’m happy. That’s not goals continuing to come from me, that’s this team.

5 – Alex Morgan is the second player in #FIFAWWC history to score five goals in a single game, doing so 27 years and 199 days after fellow @USWNT international Michelle Akers managed this feat against Chinese Taipei in November 1991. Decimated. pic.twitter.com/kkl7kay7Rz

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 11, 2019

“Right now Megan Rapinoe has put the team on her back from Spain [in the last 16] to France [in the quarter-finals] and it’s going to take players like that and individuals each game to step up and help carry this team.

“Pinoe has done that in great fashion last two games.”