Alex Morgan kept her chin up.

Setting a winning example for many young people who follow her, the San Diego native and longtime global soccer star publicly cheered for the U.S. women’s soccer team during its drive to the Olympic gold medal.

This, despite Morgan no doubt wishing she could’ve been on the fields in France.

The former U.S. star forward celebrated her former teammates and newcomers to a U.S. program she helped put on the global map. Posting to X (formerly Twitter), where she has 3.6 million followers, Morgan cheered the United States’ gold medal-clinching goal and praised goalie Alyssa Naeher following a clutch save.

As any competitor would, Morgan expressed personal disappointment when new coach Emma Hayes left her off the Olympic roster.

At the time, I wrote Hayes made the right move by omitting Morgan, in large part because the U.S. program Morgan helped to lift had attracted so much rising young talent now maturing.

It’s not confirmation bias to say recent events validated Hayes’ decision.

This was as obvious as the Eiffel Tower: the three young forwards Hayes dared to lean on so heavily — Mallory Swanson, 26; Sophia Smith, 24; and Trinity Rodman, 22 — all rewarded the new coach for asking so much of them.

The three speedsters combined for 11 of the United States’ 12 Olympic goals.

They chipped in four of the team’s nine assists.

Despite an extreme workload across the condensed, six-match schedule spanning just 16 days, they not ony held up, they delivered in key second-half moments.

Like when a 22-year-old Morgan scored in the 2011 World Cup final in Germany, youth prevailed.

The case for omitting Morgan, who turned 35 last month, hinged on timing.

Swanson, Smith and Rodman entered July in peak soccer condition and were showing sharp form, having performed well in a National Women’s Soccer League loaded with Olympians.

Though not finished products, they were rising fast, especially Swanson in her comeback from a knee injury that wrecked her ’23 season and return to a second World Cup.

By counting on Rodman, Smith and Swanson so much in France, Hayes could add more versatility elsewhere — a key to extracting gold.

Also the coach’s “sink or swim” trust in the trio might hasten their international development.

Mission accomplished, on all counts.

It may have been different for Morgan had she not been sidelined a month by the ankle injury sustained April 29 with the Wave, affecting her fitness and contributing to her scoreless season through eight matches.

Hayes chose Crystal Dunn among the forwards, although she would use Dunn at defender, her national-team spot, and midfielder.

Dunn, a World Cup All-Star in 2019, was fully fit and having a terrific NWSL season. She went on to have a strong Olympics. Logging all but 75 of the 600 total minutes, she toughened a defense that gave up just two goals. Her long pass set up Rodman’s spectacular goal that led to the 1-0 quarterfinal victory.

More likely, it was versatile forward Lynn Williams, 31, who got the nod over Morgan. Williams was added as a mid-July injury replacement for midfielder Catarina Macario, a San Diegan.

Responding, the NWSL’s all-time leading scorer tallied in a 4-1 group-stage victory. In the semifinals against Germany, Hayes had Williams replace midfielder Rose Lavelle and play the final 50 minutes of the 1-0 victory.

Critics said Hayes was courting disaster by having the young forwards and others log heavy minutes.

Falling in love with our own narrative is something we media folks often do and NBC broadcasters did Saturday, overly blaming Brazil’s strong first half on Americans’ fatigue.

Swanson and Smith looked spry in the 57th minute when Korbin Albert, 20, threaded a go-chase pass toward the scoring box.

The forwards won the sprint, creating advantages.

Swanson, showing the flair that gaffed the Wave two months ago, made two perfect touches on a sprint and found the goal’s gaping far corner.

The 1-0 final repeated the March Conacaf W Gold Cup result, also against Brazil, before 31,000 fans at Snapdragon Stadium.

A key contributor to those golden victories: Naomi Girma, the center defender whom former Wave coach Casey Stoney insisted should be — and was — the franchise’s first draft pick.

Girma never seemed to get tired or flustered in France.

Hayes brought an outsider’s perspective to the U.S. program. It took keen vision and guts to make key decisions. Jaedyn Shaw was among the beneficiaries, although the Wave midfielder-forward, 19, didn’t play in France after suffering an injury in training camp.

While the American women didn’t reprise the program’s “Damn Yankees” era of dominance, those days probably weren’t ever coming back.

The U.S. women took a big step toward challenging defending champion Spain and other European powers in the 2027 World Cup.

A neat version of compound interest, Morgan’s legacy will grow as the program does.

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