SEATTLE – Jordan Morris trained with the Seattle Sounders on Thursday for the first time since his Olympic dream ended earlier this week, and the Mercer Island native said the disappointment of not reaching Rio might not go away any time soon.
Morris and the the U.S. Under-23 team lost their two-leg Olympic qualifying series against Colombia 3-2 on aggregate after a 2-1 loss on Tuesday night in Texas. Morris had a relatively quiet night up top while Colombia controlled much of the possession, and he was subbed out after 62 minutes.
“[The Olympics] are a huge deal, that’s why it’s so disappointing,” Morris told reporters after the Sounders’ training session at CenturyLink Field. “It’s something you dream about and grow up watching. When you’re that close and you come up short, it’s pretty tough. And I think it’s going to be pretty tough for a while to kind of deal with that.”
Morris finished with one shot across both games against a heavily favored Colombia side – his ambitious effort with the outside of his right foot in the first leg last week caromed off the crossbar – but he did avoid picking up any injuries or extra fatigue heading into the Sounders’ matchup against the Montreal Impact on Saturday (7 p.m. PT; Q13 FOX/Univision Seattle/ROOT Sports (outside Seattle)/KIRO 97.3 FM/El Rey 1360 AM).
There is a chance Morris could return to the Olympics later in his career – should the U.S. qualify in 2020 they can add up to three players over the age of 23 – but for now, his international future lies with with the U.S. national team, potentially as early as the final round of World Cup qualifiers later this year.
“[The Olympics] is a dream I’ve had since I was a little kid,” he said. “Maybe there are older players who could go in the future so I’m not completely counting it out, but it’s just frustrating to have that opportunity be gone.”
