Megan Rapinoe hasn’t received U.S. women’s national team call-ups recently, but she still sees herself as very much in the USWNT mix for the World Cup.
“I feel like I still have a lot to give,” said Rapinoe on NPR’s The Limits with Jay Williams podcast. “The dynamic of the team, especially the national team is changing a lot, with a lot of younger players who are absolutely killing it. But I feel like I’d be a nice bridge into the next generation.”
Asked if she would be on the plane for Australia/New Zealand 2023, Rapinoe said “I hope so. I hope so.”
Rapinoe has been on and off of Vlatko Andonovski’s roster over the past couple of years. In 2020, she opted to sit out the NWSL season during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and battled injuries throughout 2021 and into this year, making it hard to be selected just as a promising crop of young wide players, including Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman, have emerged.
“I had a few injuries in the beginning of the season, so that was a little bit frustrating,” said Rapinoe. With OL Reign, Rapinoe has yet to start a game in 2022, though over the past month her minutes have steadily risen, including entering two games as a halftime sub, and playing on short rest in home games against the Washington Spirit and Kansas City Current. Rapinoe said she’s “getting back into it now, so looking forward to heading into summer and being able to play more games.”
Rapinoe will turn 37 just as next month’s CONCACAF W Championships (the World Cup qualifying tournament for this cycle) kicks off, and has been candid about knowing her playing career is close to its end.
“I’m getting a little bit older, so I want to go through the season and see how my body feels and all that,” said Rapinoe, before adding that one thing keeping her hungry is winning a third straight, something no team has ever done before. “The thought of a threepeat,” said Rapinoe. “This dynasty stuff, I feel like that’s very enticing to me.”
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