She was on the verge of her fourth World Cup and her zillionth media day, during which time her hair color had evolved from blond to pink to blue and her personality had transformed not a bit, so when the nameplate propped before her on the dais toppled over, Megan Rapinoe just laughed.
“I don’t need it,” she said.
No, Rapinoe does not require introduction. She is the star forward who sang Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” into the on-field mike after her first World Cup goal, against Colombia in 2011; who became the first and so far only player, male or female, to score an Olimpico in the Olympics when she did it against Canada in ’12; whose likeness was the subject of a California corn maze in ’15; who kneeled during the national anthem in support of Colin Kaepernick before an NWSL game in ’16; who found herself in a public feud with then President Donald Trump during the ’19 World Cup, then was awarded the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball; who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom last year; and who is one of the finest soccer players the United States has ever produced. She has been the face of the U.S. women’s national team for close to a decade.
But the team has evolved, and as it enters this World Cup, which begins for the U.S. on July 22 (July 21 ET) with a group-stage match against Vietnam, Rapinoe will have to, too.
On a squad whose ages range, forward Alex Morgan likes to joke, “from 18 to Pinoe” (that’s 38, for the record), the offense will not flow through Rapinoe as it did for so long. That role was expected to go to Mallory Swanson, 25, until she tore her left patellar tendon during an April friendly against Ireland; now it will likely go to Sophia Smith, 22.
Morgan, 34, and Lynn Williams, 30, or Trinity Rodman, 21, should form the rest of the starting front line. That will leave Rapinoe on the bench, waiting to come on late in games when the team needs a spark.
“She will probably have a different role than her last two World Cups,” Andonovski said when he announced the roster last month. “She is certainly going to have different types of minutes.”
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In part that will be a function of her return from injuries—a lower-leg problem that kept her off the roster for the April friendlies and another one suffered in June that she called “quite minor.” But mostly her new role reflects the youth of the roster, which boasts 14 World Cup rookies and 11 players with fewer than 30 caps, including midfielder Savannah DeMelo, who will make her international debut in the tournament. There are more players who were born after the 1999 World Cup (four) than there are players appearing in their fourth World Cup (three). The next generation of the USWNT has arrived.
But the team needs Rapinoe—who is retiring at the end of this year—in other ways, too, and at media day Andonovski expanded on what he expected from her. “When she’s on the field, she’s a great player. So that’s the first reason why she’s on this team,” he said. “She’s just one of the most creative players that I’ve ever seen and a true winner. She’s certainly a great player, and that’s why we want her on the team. But also her experience and leadership is what this team needs as well. So she will have a role of player leader and leading the leaders as well.”
Rapinoe likes to put it more succinctly: “Fun grandma.”
Her leadership can take many forms. If she doesn’t complain about her role, how can a less-decorated player? She also works with young players on everything from shot selection to packing selection. (“I bring it all,” she said with a laugh.) “She just makes me feel like I’m supposed to be here, too. Her not treating me differently and just keeping that high energy makes me feel really comfortable and happy in the environment,” said Alyssa Thompson, the youngest player on the roster, at 18. But mostly, Rapinoe reminds them all what they are doing there.
“I think sometimes what—not gets lost about this team, but because we do so much off the field, that on-field—that’s the most important thing, and that’s what has been the fuel to this team always is to strive to be the very best, to try to win every single game, whether it’s in practice or actually on the field,” Rapinoe said. “So for us, I think it’s just about continuing to put our best foot forward and continuing to try to be dominant and be the best team in the world. I can’t believe we’re back at the World Cup again. It’s kind of crazy. This is the best moment of all of our careers. It never gets old. There’s always something incredibly special about being able to compete at the very highest level against the very highest level and try to go out there and do your thing.”
The world will be watching. And no matter what role she plays, it will know who she is.
