There is little to no doubt that Megan Rapinoe is the most accomplished, experienced, and decorated player in the entire 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup field. But that didn’t help get her on the field for Wednesday night’s pivotal showdown with the Netherlands.
Megan Rapinoe was not in the United States starting lineup for Wednesday night’s match with the Netherlands, just as she didn’t start against Vietnam on Friday night, either. But unlike Friday’s match, Rapinoe was never substituted into the game, even as the USWNT tried to mount a comeback after going down early against the Netherlands.
Her absence might have been surprising to some fans, who might wonder if Rapinoe had been benched. But the move can actually be easily explained and was even predicted by Stephanie Apstein of Sports Illustrated before the tournament even began.
As Apstein explains, Rapinoe will spend more time on the bench this World Cup due to her health as well as the team’s decision to go with a youth-heavy roster.
”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.”
Fans likely have not seen the last of Rapinoe this tournament, but it’s also unlikely she’ll play as many minutes as they’re used to.
