Megan Rapinoe speaks out after World Cup elimination, backlash
Megan Rapinoe has something to say.
Following the U.S. Women’s National Team’s devastating World Cup loss in penalty kicks to Sweden that denied the team a three-peat, Rapinoe posted a lengthy statement to her Instagram on Wednesday.
“This game is so beautiful, even in its cruelest moments. This group was so very special, and I am immensely proud of every single one of us. This team is in special hands as I walk away, just like it always was, and always will be,” Rapinoe wrote.
“Because that is what this team is all about. We lay it all out on the line every single time. Fighting with everything that we have, for everything we deserve, for every person we possibly can.”
Rapinoe’s brutal penalty-kick miss in the loss to Sweden came under scrutiny after the tournament because of the star’s confusing laughter following the blunder — staining her last moment with the team, as she previously announced she would retire after this tournament.
“It has been my honor to play for our country, with so many incredible wom(e)n, for so many years,” she wrote. “Thank you, a million times over.”
Rapinoe and the USWNT have faced significant backlash following their knockout round loss to Sweden, as many tabbed the U.S. as the favorite on its way to its third straight Women’s World Cup title.
Instead, the team lost in the Round of 16, the first time the U.S. has ever lost before the semifinals in the Women’s World Cup.
“The ‘shocking and totally unexpected’ loss by the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team to Sweden is fully emblematic of what is happening to our once great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden,” former President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Many of our players were openly hostile to America – No other country behaved in such a manner, or even close,” he continued. “WOKE EQUALS FAILURE.”
Rapinoe finishes her career with two World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019, the Golden Ball and Golden Boot awards in 2019 and an Olympic gold medal in 2012.
