Megan Rapinoe says goodbye to football with USA elimination – 06/08/2023 – Sports

The loss of the United States to Sweden this Sunday (6) made the star of North American soccer Megan Rapinoe, 38, say goodbye to the lawns with tears of sadness in her eyes.

The attacking midfielder, who played in her last Women’s World Cup this year, entered the field in the first half of extra time and was the first to miss a penalty kick, missing the chance to guarantee advantage for the USA.

With that, the athlete’s last World Cup is marked by the first disqualification of the North American team in the round of 16 in nine participations in the championship.

Rapinoe had never been off the podiums, until today. Of the three finals he played in, he won two. In 2011, when it started, the US beat Brazil in the quarterfinals, but took the runners-up title after losing to Japan.

In 2015, in Canada, the rematch came with a 5-2 victory over the Japanese and the first trophy raised. Should she win this year’s Cup, Rapinoe would be part of the first team to win three consecutive tournaments. In addition to the 2015 and 2019 titles, the United States lifted the trophy in 1991 and 1999.

Football has always been present in the athlete’s life. As the daughter of a soccer coach, she got into the sport as a child along with her twin sister, Rachel.

During college, she pursued a career on school teams until she joined the Red Chicago Stars in 2009. After a brief stint at Lyon in 2012, she joined OL Reign the following year, where she remained.

Rapinoe announced her retirement twelve days before the opening of Worlds in Australia and New Zealand. “I could never have imagined how football would shape and change my life forever,” he said in an announcement made on his Twitter account on July 8.

In addition to being a world champion with the USA team in 2015 and 2019, she was a gold medalist at the 2012 London Olympics. .

The athlete also became known for her leadership in the campaign for equal pay between athletes on the women’s and men’s teams and against sexual abuse in sport.

In a statement to parliamentarians, the player spoke about the economic damage caused by the discrepancy in wages paid to men and women. The following year, the United States Federation reached an agreement with the selection’s squad, ending a six-year legal battle for the regulation of the athletes’ salaries.

The player was also one of the athletes who most opposed the presidency of Donald Trump (2017-2021) in the United States. During the 2019 World Cup, she refused to visit the White House and meet Trump in the title case. The athlete also refused to sing the country’s anthem before one of the matches, in protest.

The then president called the athlete’s behavior “inappropriate” and said that she should “finish the job” and win the competition, before saying anything. That year, the United States were champions and Rapinoe was named the best of the tournament.

In the early hours of this Sunday (6th) the Netherlands beat South Africa 2-0 at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney. See here how the key is and when the next games are.