According to coach Vlato Andonovski, Megan Rapinoe was not selected to the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) roster for the team’s upcoming SheBelieves Cup tournament. Andonovski instead decided to tweak the roster in favor of younger player’s who could help the team in the future. Rapinoe has repeatedly used her position on the national team to promote far left causes and has protested during the anthem prior to games. In 2020, Rapinoe called then-President Donald Trump a “white nationalist.”
While Rapinoe will be absent for the team’s upcoming tournament run, Andonovski noted that Rapinoe’s national team career is not necessarily finished. “All these players are very good players, we know that they’ve done so much for this team,” Andonovski told ESPN in reference to the veteran players he decided to leave off the roster. “But right now I want to give a chance to players like Sophia Smith and Mal Pugh and Catarina Macario, Ashley Hatch, players that have earned their spot on the national team or earn their spot back. I want to give them maximum minutes or whatever minutes they earn so we can evaluate every aspect of their game, in the training environment or game setting.”
Rapinoe — now 36 — and her USWNT teammates are fresh off a disappointing Olympic run in which the team was heavily favored to win gold. After a shocking 3-0 loss to Sweden in the group stage, the team handled a limited New Zealand squad before squeaking by the Netherlands. The team was then defeated by Canada before besting team Australia and earning a bronze medal. Read more…
