Critics slammed Megan Rapinoe for her response to lacking her penalty kick. She defined why she 'had that smile on my face' after the loss.

• The US Girls’s Nationwide Staff misplaced to Sweden in penalty kicks on the 2023 World Cup.
• Megan Rapinoe missed her shot and was criticized for showing to giggle afterwards.
• The veteran star was smiling in disbelief as a result of she misses penalty kicks so hardly ever.

The US Girls’s Nationwide Staff bowed out of the 2023 World Cup in heartbreaking style however some individuals are taking concern with the best way one veteran participant acted within the moments following the loss.

After a scoreless draw by means of regulation and half-hour of additional time Sunday, the US battled rival Sweden in penalty kicks for an opportunity to advance to the quarter-finals Down Underneath. The Stars and Stripes jumped out to an early lead, however three straight misses sank their desires of hoisting an unprecedented third-consecutive World Cup.

Megan Rapinoe — the 38-year-old ahead who performed the hero for the US on the 2019 World Cup — was among the many American gamers who did not convert from the penalty spot.

Instantly following Sweden’s first miss of penalties, Rapinoe stepped up with an opportunity to place her foes getting ready to elimination. But it surely was clear from the second she struck the ball that she’d put an excessive amount of on it; her shot sailed over the crossbar and into the gang at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

Rapinoe hung her head and smiled as she turned away from the objective and walked again to rejoin her teammates at midfield. And after Sweden prevailed, she gave the impression to be laughing as she spoke with teammate Lynn Williams out on the pitch.

On the again of feedback from former star Carli Lloyd criticizing the USWNT’s “ardour,” many noticed Rapinoe’s response as an indication that she did not care in regards to the end result of the match — the ultimate at a significant worldwide event in her illustrious profession. However in her postgame feedback, she clarified that her response was certainly one of disbelief.

“I imply, this is sort of a sick joke for me personally,” Rapinoe said, holding again tears as she spoke. “I am identical to, that is darkish comedy that I missed a penalty.”

Rapinoe is taken into account the most effective penalty shooters within the sport. In truth, earlier than Sunday’s miss, Rapinoe had transformed each single penalty kick she took — for membership or for nation — since 2018, in line with ESPN.

So naturally, as she stepped up for her flip, she assumed “I am gonna rating. Again of the web. At all times.”

To interrupt a five-year streak in such a pivotal second — with more than 4 million people watching — was actually unbelievable for Rapinoe.

“That is why I had that smile on my face,” Rapinoe instructed ESPN. “Like, ‘You bought to be fucking kidding me. I’ll miss the penalty?'”

Rapinoe will end out the 2023 Nationwide Girls’s Soccer League season with OL Reign earlier than hanging up her boots for good. She’ll retire with two World Cup victories, an Olympic gold medal, and a Ballon d’Or to her identify — plus a Presidential Medal of Freedom for her efforts off the sphere.