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U.S. women’s national team superstar Megan Rapinoe is retiring at the end of the 2023 NWSL season and the Women’s World Cup this summer will be her last, she announced on Saturday. The iconic attacker, a clutch player and the team’s superstar at the 2019 World Cup, began her international career back in 2006. Now 38, she will go for her third straight World Cup title this summer as the USWNT enter as the favorites with the opener set for July 22 against Vietnam.

“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,” said Rapinoe. “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 partner], 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.”

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