Megan Rapinoe dismisses USWNT criticism after early Women's World Cup exit, calls it 'fake' and 'disingenuous'

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Megan Rapinoe had a chance to make one more indelible mark on the U.S. women’s national team during the Women’s World Cup in the Round of 16 against Sweden – a penalty kick for the ages that would have helped the Americans to the quarterfinals.

Rapinoe stepped up to the marker and launched the ball high. Sweden came back and defeated the U.S. in the matchup.

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Megan Rapinoe is dejected after the U.S. team was defeated in the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand Round of 16 match against Sweden on Aug. 6, 2023, in Melbourne. (Alex Grimm - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

With the miss and the eventual U.S. elimination, Rapinoe and the squad faced a ton of criticism – from fans of the team to those who have turned analysts like Carli Lloyd and Alexi Lalas and even former President Donald Trump. The criticism was brought up in a recent interview with The Atlantic.

"It always is, because what he’s saying is fake. It’s a compilation of hit words and hot-button words that don’t actually make any sort of sense or square with reality at all… I think, just in general, the way that our team was spoken about over the course of the tournament, it was fake," Rapinoe said in the interview.

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U.S. team members line up during the penalty kick shootout during the Round of 16 match at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Aug. 6, 2023, in Australia. (Carmen Mandato/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

"And it didn’t make sense to me: In 2019, we were ultra-confident, ultra-swaggy – and won everything.