The US women’s national team has caught the attention of fans worldwide, advancing to the World Cup final and controversially celebrating goals along the way. The team’s latest celebration, Alex Morgan’s tea-sipping mockery against England on Tuesday, has drawn backlash in the UK.
Megan Rapinoe is having none of it.
“Wah, wah, wah. I mean, we’re at the World Cup, what do you want us to do?” Rapinoe told reporters Wednesday. “This is the biggest stage, the biggest moment. I don’t think anyone truly believes that we disrespect the game or disrespect our opponents. We have the utmost respect for England and every team that we’ve faced and every team that we will face forever and ever. That’s just part of the DNA of the squad. With that said, we work hard, we like to play hard and we like to have fun and enjoy ourselves, and these are the absolute biggest moments to do that.”
Rapinoe sat out and was unable to perform her noteworthy goal-scoring celebrations Tuesday during the USWNT’s semifinal win over England. Morgan managed to one-up Rapinoe.
“I think I might have been upstaged,” Rapinoe said. “That was next-level. That was pretty sharp by Alex. Maybe we’ll have to do it at the same time and we’ll duke it out. That was pretty sharp, though.”