Megan Rapinoe to Play in Final USWNT Match on Sept. 24 Ahead of Retirement
August 29, 2023
Megan Rapinoe will have her official farewell with the United States women's national team on Sept. 24 in a friendly against South Africa.
U.S. Women's National Soccer Team @USWNTπππΌππ πππ πππππ<a href="https://twitter.com/mPinoe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mPinoe</a> will play her final <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USWNT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USWNT</a> match on September 24 in Chicago Β» <a href="https://t.co/iowiCzr84b">https://t.co/iowiCzr84b</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThankYouPinoe?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThankYouPinoe</a> <a href="https://t.co/DOC6sXrDBN">pic.twitter.com/DOC6sXrDBN</a>
The OL Reign star announced in July she intends to retire when the NWSL's 2023 season concludes.
"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," she said at the time. "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."
Rapinoe was unable to enjoy a perfect send-off from the national team as the USWNT suffered its worst-ever finish in the Women's World Cup with a round-of-16 loss to Sweden on penalties. The 38-year-old was one of three U.S. players who missed their attempts during the shootout.
The disappointment did little to hurt her overall legacy with the USWNT.
Rapinoe was a two-time World Cup winner and earned gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She remains the only American woman to win the Women's Ballon d'Or, which was first handed out in 2018.
Off the field, the California native was also one of the leading voices behind the national team's fight for equal pay. The effort eventually proved successful in May 2022, when U.S. Soccer announced a new collective bargaining agreement that sees the men's and women's teams pool their prize money together and distribute it equally.
Rapinoe will forever be a symbol for perhaps the most successful run ever by the USWNT and one that saw its players effect tangible change.