Life in Washington DC is treating Esme Morgan very well indeed. Not only has she discovered some of the best form of her career, but she has sneaked into the White House correspondents dinner as a guest and adopted a kitten called Biscuit.
Morgan will now be hoping to enjoy the sweet taste of success with England and the Washington Spirit defender believes the American NWSL’s summer calendar can help her arrive at July’s European Championship in Switzerland in peak fitness because of the schedule, compared to going to a major tournament during what is – for Europe-based participants – the off-season.
“The calendar running from March to November was something that I looked at as a real positive of coming to this league, in terms of setting you up for being able to sort of peak for international tournaments,” Morgan says. “I think that’s part of the reason the US have historically had so much success in the international windows because a lot of the European teams, the majority of their players, are obviously either at the end of a very long season or really at the start of pre-season so that can be quite difficult. So I feel like it’s a really positive thing that – if selected – myself and other players playing over here would be in the midst of playing high-level, competitive football and in that rhythm and hopefully feeling really sharp.”
Morgan is preparing for England’s Women’s Nations League meeting with Portugal at Wembley on Friday but, speaking after Washington Spirit’s 3-2 win at Chicago Stars and before their 2-1 away victory against Seattle Reign, adds: “I feel in really good form, to be honest. Coming back in to pre-season, I felt fit and strong. I’d worked hard over Christmas back in the UK to kind of get into good shape, so I just felt really sharp and confident. And like a lot of the things that I worked on last season while I was still adjusting to the league and the types of opposition we play, over the off-season, I’ve kind of been able to consolidate and heavily focus each training session on specific things that I want to work on.”
Morgan’s side – who were runners-up in the NWSL playoffs last November, five months after her switch from Manchester City – are enjoying a strong start in 2025, sitting fourth in the table after 10 games, eight of which Morgan has started. She says: “I feel comfortable and confident on the pitch now that I know all my teammates a lot better and the style of playing the league, I feel like you’ve got a lot less time on the ball here than you do at home and the strikers are slightly different in terms of the threats that they offer, so getting used to that and the challenges that they pose and working on the things that I wanted to I feel has helped me this season.”
The 24-year-old from Sheffield hails her new coach, the former Barcelona coach Jonatan Giráldez, as “super detailed”, and also describes the NWSL as “super intense and competitive”. Morgan says: “Really, the gap between the teams at the top and those at the bottom is minuscule. Any one on any given day can take points off another team. Everyone here is so fast and athletic and it is more transitional than the WSL. When I played at City often when we’d play teams who’d just kind of low block and sit back and hope to just frustrate and then hit on the counter attack – whereas here it’s very rare that teams low block, which is probably why you see some of the crazy scorelines and endings to games that you do.”
Morgan starred in one such game at the start of May, a dramatic 4-3 loss at home to Angel City in which she scored twice, her first competitive goals in four years. What spurred on such rare attacking prowess? Biscuit. The match was designated as Washington Spirit’s ‘Pitchside Pups’ game, where the club encourage the adoption of animals by raising awareness for a local shelter. Fans were also allowed to bring their dogs and cats to the match.
“I just fell in love with this little kitten,” Morgan says with adoring eyes. “She’s so cute. She was at the game before the Angel City game, so I got to see her and cuddle her. And people keep saying that’s why I scored two goals, because I had the power of Biscuit with me!”
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The England international with 12 caps also had a sneak peak behind the corridors of power in the USA when she was invited – by a Lionesses fan who works for Bloomberg – to attend April’s White House correspondents dinner, which she described as a “fantastic evening” even if feeling like she was in another world. She met several ambassadors and diplomats, including a counsel from the British Consulate General in New York, and recalls: “My brother and I kept just looking at each other like what on Earth are we doing here with all these amazing people? It was just so much fun to be able to pick people’s brains and understand more about such a different industry.”
This week, it’s back to more familiar surroundings with England, but when she flies home after Tuesday’s meeting with Spain her kitten will be ready to move in with her.