Alex Morgan has said the United States women’s team is the “best ever” ahead of the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer.
The back-to-back World Cup champions face the Netherlands, Portugal and Vietnam in Group E for the tournament that starts on July 20.
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Morgan, who is looking to claim her third successive World Cup title, is confident about the team’s chances this year.
“I think that this team is the best we’ve ever had,” she told the Guardian in an interview.
She added: “We have the confidence that we need to go into a World Cup and prove why we deserve to win. I feel like we have the talent, we have the quality, we have the right coach, the right players, the right camaraderie, the right mentality.
“I don’t think that’s different from previous World Cup teams, but I think there’s a lot of different small details in place to get us to the same place that we’ve been able to go in 2015 and 2019 [and USA’s other World Cup titles in] 1999, 1991.”
Morgan also said that England are one of the main contenders to win the World Cup after sealing the European Championship last summer.
The 33-year-old was on the scoresheet when the U.S. knocked England out of the 2019 World Cup semifinals on their way to the title but warned the Lionesses are in much better place now.
“I think they’ve definitely come a long way in the last couple of years, and I think that’s credit to a lot of things,” she said. “No. 1, their domestic league, that has just gotten so much better and so much more competitive in the last five years.
“Their federation’s increased focus on their women’s program that I don’t think existed more than five years ago, bringing in the best and most qualified coaches, making sure that their players are compensated fairly.
“I think that they’ve fought and have achieved close to equal pay and working conditions. I think also their mentality has shifted. When they came close … in the 2019 World Cup, and then winning the Euros, I think there was a huge mentality shift for them.”
The U.S. will play their final game before the start of World Cup against Wales in San Jose, California, on July 9.