Megan Rapinoe admits her final World Cup before retirement is 'very special' ahead of USWNT's shock exit and THAT missed penalty as former teammates pay tribute to the retired star in Netflix's 'Under Pressure'
- Megan Rapinoe announced ahead of the World Cup that she was retiring
- The veteran said heading to the tournament knowing it was her last was 'special'
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Megan Rapinoe admitted that heading to this year's World Cup knowing that it was her last made it 'very special'.
Netflix's 'Under Pressure' series, which was released Tuesday, followed the USWNT''s unsuccessful quest for a World Cup three-peat and captured the moment the soccer veteran announced her retirement.
Rapinoe, 38, revealed in a press conference ahead of the tournament that she would retire following the World Cup and the NWSL season.
And she opened up on the significance of her final World Cup during the second episode of the series.
'I think it's just such a different feeling knowing that this is going to be my last World Cup, being kind of an old head and having a different role on the team,' she told Netflix.
![Megan Rapinoe admitted heading to the World Cup knowing that it was her last was 'special'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/12/13/78865967-0-image-m-32_1702387265363.jpg)
Megan Rapinoe admitted heading to the World Cup knowing that it was her last was 'special'
![Her final World Cup appearance ended in tears as the USA was knocked out in the last 16](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/12/13/78867255-0-image-a-26_1702387191155.jpg)
Her final World Cup appearance ended in tears as the USA was knocked out in the last 16
![The veteran had previously won two World Cups with the Stars and Stripes in 2015 and 2019](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/12/13/78867265-0-image-a-28_1702387197314.jpg)
The veteran had previously won two World Cups with the Stars and Stripes in 2015 and 2019
'It means a lot to me in a lot of different ways than the other ones did. Yeah, this one's very special.'
Former teammates and USWNT legends paid tribute to the forward, praising her for her work on and off the field.
'I know that a lot of what the world knows of her is the way that she speaks out and speaks up for those who can't, said Abby Wambach, who won a World Cup in 2015 alongside Rapinoe.
'But I do think that we have lost the plot a little bit. Like, she's a f***ing excellent soccer player, always has been, and that's why you listen to her.'
Meanwhile, two-time World Cup champion Julie Foudy said: 'Her ability to be bold and brave in the biggest of moments - on the field, off the field.
'And that's a gift, to have that combination of athletic prowess combined with this intellectual capacity and advocacy and empathy for people who are marginalized or undeserved and to be willing to speak out and do things that many wouldn't have the courage to do.'
Rapinoe, who publicly came out in 2012 ahead of the London Olympics, is an outspoken LBGTQ+ advocate who helped the US women's players obtain a new labor deal with the USSF that effectively pays female athletes the same as their male counterparts.
But she truly cemented her position as an outspoken figure for the American fanbase when she took the knee during the national anthem in 2016, becoming one of the first white athletes to do so.
![The 38-year-old's final professional appearance ended in an Achilles tear last month](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/12/13/78617639-0-Megan_Rapinoe_s_career_ended_in_an_Achilles_tear_last_month_and_-a-30_1702387251231.jpg)
The 38-year-old's final professional appearance ended in an Achilles tear last month
![The soccer veteran first took the knee during the national anthem in September 2016](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/12/13/74103105-0-The_soccer_veteran_first_took_the_knee_during_the_national_anthe-a-31_1702387260980.jpg)
The soccer veteran first took the knee during the national anthem in September 2016
She first did so in September 2016, during an NWSL game between Chicago and Seattle in support of Colin Kaepernick.
Rapinoe's international career ended in tears with the USA crashing out of the World Cup in the Round of 16 in a penalty shootout against Sweden, during which she missed a potentially deciding spotkick.
Rapinoe officially hung up her boots last month with her final professional game coming in the NWSL championship with the OL Reign. But her involvement tragically ended after just three minutes when she tore her Achilles.
Her glittering career on the field boasted two World Cup wins, an Olympic gold medal and three NWSL Shields.