Megan Rapinoe saves the day for the United States Women’s national team
The veteran World Cup winner scored a controversial penalty kick to prevent the USWNT from losing their first game in over a year.
It has been two years since the United States Women’s national team lost a game across all competitions and on Saturday their streak came very close to ending. However the USWNT was able to grab a goal against Sweden on Saturday in the 87th minute to level the score in Stockholm.
Last loss was in the 2019 World Cup
The United States has been dominating the sport for years and the proof of that is that they have won back-to-back World Cups. This year they returned to action in the SheBelieves cup and they won the tournament without losing a single game. That streak though almost came to an end on Saturday with Sweden leading from the time they scored in the 38th minute.
The US were struggling to find a break through in the second half, constantly coming up short in their efforts to find a way to tie the game. So USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski decided to bring in Megan Rapinoe in the 58th minute with the idea the superstar would shake things up. And so it proved: the United States was awarded a controversial penalty after Kelley O’Hara was fouled on the edge of the area.
Controversial call
The replay on television showed that the initial contact occurred outside the box, but with there being no VAR, the referee pointed to the spot and it was up to Megan Rapinoe to level the game. The striker produced a clinical execution to the spot kick in the 87th minute to tie the pre-Olympic friendly and keep the USWNT's unbeaten streak alive.
“We don’t have a video review, so I’ll take it. I’m not asking any questions,” said Rapinoe after the game. “A great challenge and this is exactly what we need.
The United States Women’s national team has scored 61 goals and only conceded three since Andonovski took over the managerial job. He has made the team more tactical and it has improved the quality of the USWNT who are preparing to reclaim the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics this summer.