The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team triumphed over England on Tuesday, bringing them one step closer to the World Cup. The national team won their game 2 to 1, bringing them one step closer to their second straight title and holding the nation’s attention on a sport that it usually ignores for a little longer.
Tuesday’s game against England was played in Stade de Lyon, France, and pitted the U.S. against their biggest rival yet. This leaves only the final for the team, which will be played against either the Netherlands of Sweeden on Sunday.
Videos by PopCulture.com
The game was full of surprises, beginning with the decision to leave Megan Rapinoe out of the starting line up. Rapinoe has been at the center of attention lately as the president has lobbed insults at her over Twitter. However, experts have pointed out that it is not so odd to give Rapinoe a break in the beginning of a game like this, especially with the final right around the corner.
Rapinoe was replaced with Christen Press in the beginning, who scored the first goal in the tenth minute of the game. England got its one and only goal not long after that, courtesy of Ellen White. However, by halftime the U.S. was ahead again, and the final score was already in place.
Many expected England to present more a challenge to the U.S. team, especially when comparing their performances so far. In the quarter-final match, England won a decisive victory over Norway with a score of 3-0, while the U.S. beat France at 2-1 — both goals scored by Rapinoe.
Rapinoe’s reputation as a sports celebrity is growing as she becomes more politically outspoken, and the president responds with outrage on Twitter. Last month, she made headlines by saying she would not go to “the f—ing White House,” even if her team did win the World Cup.
Since then, President Donald Trump has impugned Rapinoe on Twitter, reminding his followers that she protested in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick in 2016. Rapinoe took a knee during the National Anthem several times that season, despite the outrage of fans and event organizers.
These days, Rapinoe is still pulling no punches in her political statements, but her fans do not seem to mind. Rapinoe is an LGBTQ activist, and on Tuesday her partner Sue Bird published an editorial in the Player’s Tribune titled “So the President F—ing Hates My Girlfriend.”
President Trump has not yet responded to the team’s win on Tuesday.
