Abby Wambach

Sep 25, 2023

goodwordnews 9 mins ago 174 Megan Rapinoe waves to the crowd before her final match with the U.S. national team on Sunday in Chicago. Michael Reaves/Getty Images Michael Reaves/Getty Images Megan Rapinoe waves to the crowd before her final match with the U.S. national team on Sunday in Chicago. Michael Reaves/Getty Images In her final match for the national team on Sunday, Megan Rapinoe bowed out of her international football career, basking in applause and hugs from her teammates. While this is the end of her remarkable national career, it doesn’t really feel like an end because so much of who Rapinoe is and what she represents extends beyond the court. At times it seemed unbelievable that someone with such moral courage and poise could also score the most goals at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, a winger with a foot like a laser. How could all this talent and courage be in one person? The last match In Sunday’s friendly match in Chicago, the United States beat South Africa 2-0. Rapinoe didn’t score a goal or assist, but came very close. There was her curving corner early in the second half, pushed away by the South African goalkeeper, then headed in by the USWNT’s Emily Sonnett. And there was this moment, so perfectly set up for the final: Rapinoe’s free kick in the 52nd minute, the opportunity to score a goal from one of her countless surgically executed set pieces. She sent it towards the goal and the keeper leapt to stop it – but the ball narrowly went over the crossbar. So there was no perfect goal to end her national career, just as there was no perfect performance at last month’s Women’s World Cup, where the United States was eliminated earlier than ever. But that didn’t dampen the fans’ admiration when Rapinoe was substituted for the final time, in the 53rd minute of the match, giving the 25,000 spectators at Soldier Field the opportunity to pay their respects. Football Youtube Rapinoe handed off the captain’s armband to Lindsay Horan, received hugs from her teammates and hugged her replacement, Midge Purce. “I’m outside!” exclaimed Rapinoe. A star on the field and in activism for social justice At age 38, Rapinoe’s last game came 17 years and 63 days after her first USWNT appearance, making it the fourth-longest career in team history. She has competed in four Women’s World Cups (winning two) and was part of the 2012 Olympic gold medal team. She has scored 63 international goals, placing her 10th in USWNT history , and tied with Abby Wambach for assists with 73. She found her place in the hearts of soccer fans during the 2011 World Cup quarterfinal against Brazil, when a long pass to Abby Wambach resulted in a header that sent the United States to penalties. goal – Rapinoe made hers – and to victory in the match. In 2016, she was the first white athlete to kneel during the national anthem in solidarity with NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s protest against police brutality against black people. US Soccer then banned kneeling for more than three years, before repealing the rule in 2020 and saying its policy was wrong. “As a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not let it protect all your freedoms,” she said after the first game in which she knelt. “It’s important for white people to support people of color on this issue. We don’t need to be the leading voice, of course, but supporting them is a really powerful thing.” During the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, Rapinoe became a hero to many and a villain to others. During the tournament, Rapinoe found himself in a war of words with then-President Donald Trump. The United States went on to lift the Cup, with Rapinoe winning the Golden Boot for most goals – and her celebratory pose with outstretched arms became her signature. She was also among the outspoken USWNT player leaders who fought US Soccer to change its pay structure so that men’s and women’s teams received equal pay for equal work – a fight they won in 2022 with a new contract and a settlement that included $22 million. in salary arrears. She did all this while becoming a gay icon and LGBTQ advocate, alongside her partner Sue Bird, the WNBA star who retired from basketball last year. In 2022, President Joe Biden awarded Rapinoe the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Rapinoe was the first female soccer player to receive this award and one of six female athletes. “Beyond World Cup titles and Olympic medals, Megan is the champion of an essential American truth: that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect,” Biden said. His football career is not over just yet, nevertheless. Rapinoe will finish the season with her club team, OL Reign. While she hangs up her cleats, don’t expect Rapinoe to disappear. She and Bird launched a production company late last year aimed at spotlighting underrepresented voices. She hopes to one day own a professional women’s soccer team, renovate her house and travel not for games, but for fun. “I want to go to Italy for a month,” she told The Ringer. “That would be so nice.” What if you go into politics? She admitted to thinking about it, as she was asked several times. But she said her retirement plan was to be an activist, not a politician. “I want to live my life,” she told The Ringer. “Probably selfishly, I’m just like, ‘That seems like a lot. '” President Joe Biden awards the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to Rapinoe at the White House in July 2022. J. Scott Applewhite/AP