Renowned for her reliability as a penalty taker, Rapinoe said missing one in the final moment of her career felt like "a sick joke".
'THE PLATFORM'Rapinoe plans to finish her club season with National Women's Soccer League side OL Reign before retiring and shows no signs of retreating from public life after a career spent championing social causes.
Looking back at the 2019 tournament, Rapinoe saw her on-field achievements as being inextricably entwined with her advocacy.
Without the winning, you don't get the media, you don't get the eyes, you don't get the fans."
In 2022, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest United States' civilian honour, alongside gymnastics Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles.
Persons:
Megan Rapinoe, Asanka Brendon Ratnayake, Rapinoe, I've, It's, Abby Wambach, Donald Trump's, Colin Kaepernick, Simone Biles, Amy Tennery, Ed Osmond
Organizations:
Soccer Football, FIFA, REUTERS, Swedes, Fox Sports, d'Or, U.S, National Women's Soccer League, Republican, Soccer, NFL, United States, Thomson
Locations:
New Zealand, Sweden, United States, Melbourne, Australia, Auckland, Brazil