Megan Rapinoe has said she is embracing a different role on the U.S. women’s national team as they look ahead to the 2023 World Cup.
Rapinoe was front and center four years ago as she won the Golden Boot and Golden Ball at the 2019 World Cup, leading the USWNT to a second straight title.
Though she’s still involved in the national team setup, Rapinoe has been mostly used off the bench in the past 18 months. Nine of the 12 caps she’s amassed in 2022 and 2023 have come as a substitute.
If healthy, the 37-year-old still looks likely to make the USWNT’s World Cup roster — especially after Mallory Swanson’s serious knee injury.
When asked about her approach to the 2023 World Cup on the Snacks podcast, the veteran said: “In some ways completely differently and in some ways exactly the same.
“My role on the team is completely different, which I actually really love and enjoy. I mean, I still love to play and I want to play all the time. Sometimes at 60 minutes I’m like, ‘she’s ready [to come off].'”
“But I do love my role and I think it’s position specific. Like not every position can only be playing limited minutes or having the kind of role that I do.”
USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski has spoken highly of Rapinoe’s locker room presence in the past, and the OL Reign star is embracing the chance to mentor some of the young stars at her position like Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Alyssa Thompson.
“I’m still fun. I’m still a fun aunt, fun grandma,” Rapinoe said. “But yeah, we want to run it back. We want to win. We want to win everything, all the time. Win every game. World Cups are just so cool. Like this one’s going to be so much better than the last one which was so much better than the last one.
“It’s in a really cool place, so I think that’s exciting for everyone. The team is looking great. These little kids are just good. Everyone’s just good.”
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