Alex Morgan: Breaking Down Her Performance for USA vs. France at the Olympics

Alex Morgan—U.S. Women's Soccer's shining light—was at her mercurial best today when the United States Women's National Team got the better of France, 4-2.

The reigning Olympic champions went two goals down early on but recovered swiftly to take the initiative in Group G.

Morgan was instrumental in their success, scoring two in an impressive performance that takes her current streak to 19 goals from 16 games.

Let's break down her match-winning performance.

First Half

Morgan was instructed to play, in traditional terms, as a "fast striker."

Pairing her with the larger, more imposing Abby Wambach was a masterstroke, as the Seattle Sounders forward had the freedom of movement to cause the French untold damage.

She spent the opening 20 minutes working the channels between the two centre-backs and the left-back. Timing the runs well was critical and her execution was brilliant.

As early as the sixth minute, French alarm bells should have been ringing—Morgan slipped in on the right, beat her marker and cut inside only to loft a poor cross wide of goal.

Twenty-four minutes in, Morgan showed her technical prowess. While many of the players on display struggled on the ball under pressure, Morgan proved she was leagues above by controlling a high ball perfectly on her chest and laying it off to a teammate.

For the latter stages of the first half, Morgan swapped over and moved further towards the left, leaving Wambach to take a central-right position.

It was from here she scored her first. A run starting from deep took her past Wambach and allowed her to reach the flick-on. She was offside for the goal, but the finish was undeniably artistic—a dinked lob over the onrushing goalkeeper saw the ball nestle comfortably in the base of the net.

It was clear throughout the first half that France had identified Morgan as a real threat, as they consistently roughed her up and seemed overzealous when pressurising.

Second Half

Morgan's role in the second half changed dramatically due to the emergence of Megan Rapinoe.

The U.S. right-sider finally found her groove and began to dominate her touchline, meaning Morgan was able to drift into a more natural striker's role.

Before, Rapinoe's lack of thrust meant Morgan was playing two roles rather than one and consistently finding herself out wider than she wanted.

With France's left-back being consistently beaten, the U.S. team shifted higher up as they gained ground on the right.

In the 59th minute, Rapinoe and Morgan showed how well they can work together.

With the right midfielder drifting inwards for a change, the Seattle hotshot read the play and drifted wide. Finding space in behind the full-back, Morgan entered the box and was perhaps unlucky not to earn her side a penalty kick.

The second goal was the icing on the cake of a great performance. She showed great positional awareness on the counterattack to attack the back post, and a mix-up between France's defence and goalkeeper allowed her the easiest of tap-ins.

Conclusion

At one stage it seemed we were in for a real shock, but the United States Women's National Team is a clear dominant force.

Morgan's performance may not have been traditionally impressive, but she is a clever player and simply tormented the French defence throughout her 75-minute spell on the pitch.

Rapinoe was the best player on the park today, but Morgan was a close second.

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