Same Megan Rapinoe, new role in 2023 World Cup

The forward will have fewer minutes in her fourth World Cup, but is ready to take on a new leadership role before retiring at the end of the year.

There are few names more recognizable in women’s soccer than Megan Rapinoe. Heading to her fourth World Cup, Rapinoe received the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards in 2019 for scoring the most goals and being named the tournament’s best player.

Rapinoe — called Pinoe by her teammates and coaches — is a player who shines in the biggest moments. During the 2019 World Cup, then-President Donald Trump began directing a series of negative tweets at Rapinoe, putting an unexpected target on her back. How did Rapinoe respond? By scoring six goals and adding three assists. In the World Cup final, she tuned out all the noise and calmly placed a penalty kick into the right corner — running to the corner flag and posing with her arms in the air for what would become a tournament-defining image shared across the globe.

Lining up on the left wing, Rapinoe has a personality that shines as much on the field as it does off it. The brightly-colored-haired forward (who is rocking a blue shade this tournament) has made a name for herself with unpredictable movement, dangerous crosses and set-piece deliveries, and a unique ability to try things on the field that most players would never think of. In big moments, that “try stuff” attitude has paid off. She’s scored nine goals in 17 World Cup matches while notching seven assists.

With 14 U.S. teammates making their World Cup debuts, Rapinoe will play a much different role during the 2023 World Cup. She isn’t expected to start every game, but head coach Vlatko Andonovski is betting that her leadership and ability to change games in a moment will help the U.S. win its third consecutive trophy.

“She certainly is going to have different types of minutes, but her role first from the leadership standpoint is so important,” Andonovski told reporters after announcing the 23-player roster for the World Cup. “Also, when she is on the field, she is so valuable for us.”

Having played for two years under Andvonoski when he coached her club team OL Reign, Rapinoe understands his vision better than almost anyone. Players will look to Rapinoe to help translate that vision into success — and to calm their nerves during stressful times with her trademark humor.

“My role on the team is completely different, which I actually really love and enjoy,” Rapinoe said about her role on an episode of Snacks, a podcast hosted by Lynn Williams and Sam Mewis. “I mean, I still love to play, and I want to play all the time ... but I really love my role, and I love that I’m still able to do that.”

Having just turned 38, Rapinoe is two decades older than Alyssa Thompson, the youngest member of the U.S. squad at 18. Despite missing time with small but nagging injuries the last two years, Rapinoe continues to prove that age is just a number.

Once she recovered from a calf strain that kept her out of the first part of the season, Rapinoe had one of her best years with OL Reign in 2022 — scoring or assisting a goal in eight of the team’s final nine games to lead them to the best regular-season record.

In late May of this year, she once again silenced any doubters, providing three assists in OL Reign’s 4-1 win.

Rapinoe came off the field two weeks later with another calf strain and hasn’t featured in a match since, but her injury isn’t expected to be an issue when the World Cup kicks off.

Off the field, Rapinoe has used her platform to advocate for pay equity, civil rights, reproductive rights, and the protection of gay and trans youth. This will be Rapinoe’s last major tournament — she’ll retire at the end of the 2023 NWSL season — but this is most certainly not the last time she’ll make an impact.