There are few names more recognizable in women’s soccer than Megan Rapinoe. Heading to her fourth World Cup, Rapinoe received the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards in 2019 for scoring the most goals and being named the tournament’s best player.
Rapinoe — called Pinoe by her teammates and coaches — is a player who shines in the biggest moments. During the 2019 World Cup, then-President Donald Trump began directing a series of negative tweets at Rapinoe, putting an unexpected target on her back. How did Rapinoe respond? By scoring six goals and adding three assists. In the World Cup final, she tuned out all the noise and calmly placed a penalty kick into the right corner — running to the corner flag and posing with her arms in the air for what would become a tournament-defining image shared across the globe.