U.S. women’s national team legend Megan Rapinoe played her final international match Sunday in a friendly against South Africa at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Here’s what you need to know:
- The two-time World Cup champion and 2019 Ballon d’Or Féminin winner captained the team after being honored in an on-field pregame ceremony.
- She was subbed off in the 54th minute, replaced by Midge Purce with the USWNT leading 2-0. Rapinoe’s corner kick minutes prior helped lead to the team’s second goal, scored off a header by Emily Sonnett.
- Rapinoe, 38, announced before the 2023 World Cup she would finish the NWSL season and retire this year. Sunday’s game marked her 203rd USWNT cap.
Megan Rapinoe is honored before her final USWNT game 🥺
Watch her farewell match live on TNT 📺 pic.twitter.com/I0xg5tpWSn
— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 24, 2023
Backstory
Rapinoe entered Sunday with 63 goals and 73 assists for the USWNT, both of which rank in the top 10 in U.S. history. She appeared in three matches at this summer’s World Cup, logging 80 minutes as the U.S. lost in the round of 16.
OL Reign, with whom Rapinoe has spent her entire 11-year NWSL career, is scheduled to play its last regular-season match on Oct. 15; the club’s last home game, on Oct. 6, is being…
