Retiring Megan Rapinoe Says Goodbye to US Women's National Team After Final World Cup
Megan Rapinoe is celebrating her final World Cup run and her storied career with the U.S. Women's National Team as she retires from professional soccer.
The two-time World Cup winner took to Instagram on Wednesday, after the USWNT was eliminated from this year's tournament, to honor not only her teammates but the game itself.
"This game is so beautiful, even in its cruelest moments," Rapinoe began her post. "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. 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."
The superstar player, who began her international career in 2006, continued, "It has been my honor to play for our country, with so many incredible women, for so many years."
"Thank you, a million times over," Rapinoe concluded.
The USWNT lost in the knock-out round to Sweden. In the tournament, Rapinoe played as a substitute in two of the three group-stage games and in the knock-out game against Sweden, Rapinoe missed a penalty kick that would have sent the team to the quarterfinals.
Rapinoe, 38, announced her plans to retire ahead of this year's World Cup in New Zealand.
"I've been able to have such an incredible career, and this game has brought me all over the world and allowed me to meet so many amazing people," Rapinoe said in July. "I feel incredibly grateful to have played as long as I have, to be as successful as we've been, and to have been a part of a generation of players who undoubtedly left the game better than they found it. To be able to play one last World Cup and one last NWSL season and go out on my own terms is incredibly special."
"I want to thank my family for being by my side all these years. Thanks to all my teammates and coaches all the way back to my first days in Redding, on to college at the University of Portland and of course thanks to U.S. Soccer, the Seattle Reign and especially Sue [Bird, Rapinoe's fiancée], for everything. I will forever cherish the friendships and support over the years in this game, and I am beyond excited for one last ride with the national team and [OL] Reign."
Last month at the 2023 ESPY Awards, ET spoke with Rapinoe's U.S. Women's National teammates -- Christen Press and Tobin Heath -- as well as Bird, who addressed the superstar player's retirement.
"She had such an amazing career, epic career," Bird said. "Tons of winning, but everything she's done that's gonna impact the rest of us happened off the field and that's gonna live on forever and continue. So she's retiring from soccer, but luckily not from life."
Meanwhile, when Press and Heath spoke with ET, the former said, "There's no words to describe" Rapinoe's career.
"She has led us on and off the field for decades. She is someone that we have both played really closely with, that we both looked up to, that we've both learned from, and we will continue to do so, because the beauty of Megan Rapinoe is what she does on the field is only a fraction of who she is and what she stood for, and what she stood against," she added. "I'm very confident that she will continue to lead us into the next chapters of her life."
Heath agreed, telling ET, "Amen. I couldn't have said it better myself."
RELATED CONTENT:
Megan Rapinoe's Partner and Teammates React to Her Retirement at ESPYs
Simone Biles, Megan Rapinoe Receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Megan Rapinoe Pops Champagne During US Women's Soccer Team Celebration
Megan Rapinoe on Her Skincare Routine, Beauty Tips From Sue Bird
Victoria's Secret Taps Priyanka Chopra and Megan Rapinoe for a Rebrand
