The U.S. women’s national team won the Women’s World Cup in France yesterday, a record fourth time, defeating the Dutch 2-0.
Reign FC star Megan Rapinoe stood on the field, arms outstretched, striking her now trademark victory pose symbolizing the confidence of a U.S. team that celebrated and savored each triumph at the tournament.
Rapinoe won the Golden Ball as top player and the Golden Boot as top scorer, and the United States backed up its brashness by winning while simultaneously making a strong statement for gender equity.
“We’ve done exactly what we set out to do, done exactly what we wanted to do, said what we feel,” Rapinoe said. “All of us, really. I know sometimes my voice is louder, but everybody is in this together. We’re such a proud and strong and defiant group of women.”
Listen above to a report from regional correspondent Tom Banse about the post-win “equal pay” chants, and listen below for a conversation between sports commentator Art Thiel and Morning Edition host Kirsten Kendrick about Rapinoe’s contributions.
“She was the dominant player on the dominant team,” Thiel said of Rapinoe, a World Cup veteran. “She had a tremendous tournament, especially the bigger the games got.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
