U.S. women's team star Alex Morgan has high hopes, but told Goal she does not consider the squad the favorite to win the 2015 Women's World Cup.

The United States women’s soccer team may be on the top of the 2015 Women’s World Cup oddsboard at many gambling sites, but star forward Alex Morgan says it shouldn’t be considered the favorite.

“I think we have high expectations for ourselves,” Morgan said. “Do we consider ourselves the favorite? No, I wouldn’t say so.”

The U.S. international spoke to Goal on Friday as part of a #PassTheLove event held by Mondelez, maker of Ritz crackers and the official snack sponsor of the U.S. soccer, in which a mural of the U.S. team will be created using soccer balls kicked into the canvass rather than a paint brush. The mural is part of a wider campaign during which fans can show support for the women's team through the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada.

Despite the gold medal in the 2012 Olympics, Morgan cited other factors why the U.S. may be a favorite, but not the team to beat.

“We’re not ranked No. 1 right now,” Morgan said. The U.S. is No.2, behind Germany. “We’re not reigning champions of the World Cup. So I think there are other teams that have targets on their backs.”

Morgan was the youngest player on the 2011 team that lost to Japan in the final and believes a big difference for her in this year’s event is the familiarity from being with the squad for four years.

“I feel a little more at ease with the team moving forward into this World Cup because I feel it’s a lot of the same team,” she said. “We’ve had a long time to prepare for this World Cup and obviously look back at the last World Cup and realize what we need to do moving forward.

“There are teams with different strengths and teams that really step up when it comes to a World Cup year. So, I’m looking forward to playing some of those teams.”

But Morgan isn’t looking too far ahead. The group stage features Australia, Nigeria and Sweden, led by Pia Sundhage, who coached the U.S. to a second-place finish in 2011 and a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics. It's a group that will feature some tough battles, in Morgan’s estimation.

“Those are teams we can’t take for granted because all three teams will put up a good fight,” she said. “Sweden in particular with Pia being the head coach, they’re going to put up a good fight. They always challenge us in a great way and I’m excited to get it started.”

Sweden isn’t the only team the U.S. has history with in the tournament. Japan again faced the U.S. in the 2012 Olympic gold medal game, though it was unable to replicate its World Cup win.

There’s also the host nation of Canada, which played a memorable and hotly contested battle with the U.S. in the semifinals of the 2012 Olympics. Morgan delivered the winner in the 123rd minute to send the team though toward an eventual gold medal.

“I definitely think the U.S.-Canada rivalry has upped a level in the last couple of years since the 2012 Olympics,” she said.

Though she didn’t expect too much of a negative reaction from the Canadian fans early on, Morgan acknowledged things could change if the teams were to meet later on in the tournament.

“I think Canadians are pretty nice in general, but we could see some hostility towards them in the World Cup, especially if we see them in the knockout stages,” Morgan said.

Yet the U.S. does not figure to feel like the visitors too often. In fact, Morgan said she expects plenty of U.S. support north of the border — a staunch change from the 2011 event in Germany, where it was hard for even Morgan’s family to attend.

“It almost feels like a home World Cup because all of my family are able to make it to the games,” Morgan said. “And I know we’re going to have thousands of fans traveling up to the games.”

Opponents are not the only obstacle the women will have to figure out this summer. Much has been made about the tournament, including most notably the final, being played on artificial surfaces rather than natural grass.

Morgan was part of a discrimination lawsuit against FIFA, led by teammate Abby Wambach, to install grass fields for the entire tournament. The lawsuit was ultimately dropped. Despite the difficulties, Morgan said the U.S. is making preparations on how best to deal with it.

“We’re training a lot on turf with the national team and just getting a little more comfortable with the difference in the bounce, realizing we’re going to need to take care of our bodies,” she said. “The way we recover our bodies is a little different and needs a little more attention than if we were to play on grass.”

However, Morgan added: “Regardless of whether or not we’re on turf, I’m excited about the World Cup.”