- USWNT lose on penalties to Sweden in World Cup
- Rapinoe one of three to miss in shootout
- Wrexham's Mullin sticks up for those who missed
WHAT HAPPENED? The USWNT were knocked out of the Women's World Cup by Sweden on penalties at the last-16 stage on Sunday, with footballing icon Rapinoe, who is retiring at the end of the year, one of three to miss for Vlatko Andonovski's side. Despite this heartache, Wrexham star Mullin has come to the defence of the USWNT squad, pointing out that even seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi has missed his fair share of penalties. Mullin also has first hand experience of penalty pressure, having seen his effort from 12 yards saved during Wrexham's FA Cup fourth-round replay defeat to Sheffield United last season.
WHAT THEY SAID: Mullin wrote in his latest column for The Athletic:"The players who put their hand up to take a penalty at a World Cup — particularly in a shootout — are courageous. That’s football bravery. In recent days, we’ve all witnessed this as players from Sweden, the United States, England and Nigeria made that long walk from the halfway line. When it is shootout time, someone has to lose and, for that to happen, someone must miss. For Megan Rapinoe, Sophia Smith and Kelley O’Hara, it was, unfortunately, their misses which led to the USWNT’s exit by the finest of margins.
"I remember being asked about that miss [for Wrexham against Sheffield United] afterwards. I said if Lionel Messi — the greatest player to grace our game — can miss penalties, then of course I can. Missing is part of the game. And missing on the world stage is something no player will feel proud of in the moment. But they had to be there to miss them. Rapinoe, Smith and O’Hara all had to make it to the World Cup for the opportunity to score in it. And most players never even get close. I stayed up for the USWNT’s last-16 game with Sweden, which kicked off at 2am here in California, and the drama of the shootout had me holding my ribs. I was on the edge of my seat. Seeing whether or not Lina Hurtig’s decisive penalty had gone over the line was gripping. This was football at its most dramatic."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: While Rapinoe's career may end on a sad note with her country's early World Cup exit, having won the tournament last time out, this will not define her legacy. She has been capped 202 times by the United States, scoring 63 goals in the process, won the World Cup twice and while also picking up a host of trophies in her club career, too.
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GettyWHAT NEXT? Mullin is currently recovering from a punctured lung he suffered during Wrexham's pre-season tour in America, but he has flown back to Wales after spending time rehabilitating at club co-owner Rob McElhenney's house in Los Angeles. Rapinoe will bring down the curtain on her career at Seattle's Lumen Field on October 6 when her OL Reign side take on the Washington Spirit.