Following Team USA's earliest-ever World Cup elimination Sunday after a shootout loss to Sweden, U.S. women's soccer veteran Megan Rapinoe — who badly missed a penalty kick during the shootout — took solace in her squad's social activism that she said "changed the world forever."
A reporter asked Rapinoe if a memory stands out to her in regard to how she impacted Team USA over the years, and Rapinoe — who's made a name for herself during that time by espousingleft-wingsocial views — said it was fighting for equal pay with male players.
"I think this team has always fought for so much more, and that's been the most rewarding part for me — of course, playing in World Cups and winning championships and doing all that, but ... to know that we've used our really special talent to do something, you know, that's really like changed the world forever. I think that means the most to me."
The relevant Q&A starts at the 1:15 mark:
After Rapinoe missed her penalty kick in the shootout against Sweden, the outspoken forward walked away, looked downward, and smiled:
So, why the smile?
Rapinoe later explained to a reporter that it felt like "a sick joke. That's why I had that smile on my face. Like, 'You got to be f***ing kidding me. I'm going to miss the penalty?' I honestly can't remember the last [time] I missed a penalty," ESPN noted.
Video also showed Rapinoe saying with a laugh that "there's just some dark, dark comedy in me missing a penalty in my last game ever." Rapinoe noted prior to the World Cup that she would retire at the end of the 2023 NWSL season, which made this her final World Cup, ESPN said.
Rapinoe entered the game late against Sweden as a substitute. The score remained 0-0 after regulation, after which the contest went to a penalty-kick shootout. As it turned out, Rapinoe was one of three U.S. players to miss shootout kick attempts before Sweden finally netted one and claimed victory.
After the elimination loss, Yahoo Sports observed that "no U.S. team had ever finished worse than third at the Women’s World Cup; this one will finish something like 12th." The outlet added that no U.S. team had ever scored fewer than 12 goals during a women’s World Cup tournament — and the 2023 team scored only four goals.
Yet at the start of Rapinoe's "changed the world forever" interview above, she said she thought Team USA "played really well."
As they have in the past, the Team USA women at times seemed to make more headlines about controversial behavior such as not singing the national anthem than their play on the field.
Not surprisingly, a deluge of commenters underneath the Yahoo Sports story on Team USA's loss to Sweden were quite happy the American women were sent packing — mirroring the response when the squad was beaten in the 2021 Olympics. Check out a sampling:
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