US co-captain Alex Morgan's goal celebration not everyone's cup of tea
Alex Morgan powered home the winning header against England to help the United States reach the Women's World Cup final yesterday morning (Singapore time), but it was her "tea-sipping" goal celebration that has caused a stir.
After putting the US 2-1 up in the 31st minute, Morgan ran to the sideline and stopped to sip an imaginary cup of tea, sparking a slew of memes and American Revolution references on social media.
The victory came just before the July 4 Independence Day in the United States, which commemorates the Declaration of Independence from Britain by 13 American colonies in 1776.
Morgan came in for some criticism for the celebration of her sixth goal of the World Cup on her 30th birthday, with England international Lianne Sanderson describing it as "distasteful".
"I think tonight I expected Alex to grab a goal, but I'm not that happy with that celebration," the Juventus forward told beIN Sports.
"I could be wrong but it's based upon playing against England and we love our tea in England. I'm not a tea drinker but that's what we're connected with, so I think it's a little bit distasteful."
Morgan said the celebration was her way of responding to the US team critics, who have accused the defending champions of arrogance.
"I wanted to keep it interesting," she said. "I know Megan Rapinoe has the best celebration. I had to try and step up this game.
"I feel like this team have had so much thrown at them and us. I feel like we didn't take an easy route through this tournament and 'that's the tea'."
Rapinoe, who made headlines by scoring a brace in the 2-1 quarter-final win over France, following a spat with US President Donald Trump, was left out of the semi-final due to a hamstring injury.
But Rapinoe, who turns 34 tomorrow, is expected to be fit for the final against either Sweden or Holland on Sunday.
Earlier, England's Ellen White had cancelled out Christen Press's early opener, but Morgan's header won it for the Americans.
After an open first 45 minutes, the second half was dominated by VAR controversy, with England having another White goal disallowed for the tightest of offside calls, following a review by the Brazilian referee.
England coach Phil Neville, who revealed that he had told his players at full-time to smile rather than cry, said: "We've no regrets, we lost the game. We've come to the World Cup and given our absolute all." - REUTERS
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