After 17 years on the national team and nearly as many years speaking out to support various issues including L.G.B.T.Q. rights, equal pay, the Black Lives Matter movement and voter rights, Rapinoe will play in her fourth Women’s World Cup and her final season in the National Women’s Soccer League and will end her career at the top of her sport.
She is a three-time Olympian and won gold with her team at the 2012 London Games. She has played in 199 games for the national team and has scored 63 goals for the United States, oftentimes making huge plays as a creative and fierce forward, exactly when her team needed it the most.
Perhaps nothing exemplified her ability to perform under pressure more than when she scored twice in a quarterfinal against France at the 2019 World Cup. Her goals came just days after former President Donald J. Trump criticized her on Twitter for her stance that she wouldn’t go to the Trump White House if her team won the tournament.
Trump said: “Megan should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job!”
Rapinoe, however, did not flinch. In the fifth minute of that match against France, she scored on a free kick and ran to the corner of the field, stretched her arms out wide and basked in the applause of the fans. She scored again in the second half to catapult the team into the semifinals, with a 2-1 victory. The Americans went on to win that world title, their second in a row.
Rapinoe was stunning on the field in 2019. She won the Ballon d’Or as the FIFA women’s player of the year. Her six goals at that World Cup helped her earn the Golden Boot as the top scorer and the Golden Ball as the top player.