Megan Rapinoe is having a ridiculous year. She’s the NWSL’s leading scorer with 12 goals, she engineered the USWNT’s comeback in a 4-3 win over Brazil, and she scored this spectacular goal against Japan on Thursday night:
Megan Rapinoe made Japan’s defenders look like they were slipping on ice while scoring this goal
These are world class players she’s juking out of their shoes.
You’re unlikely to see a combination of skill, intelligence, and patience better than this from any player in the world. She made Aya Sameshima — a veteran of the 2011 World Cup-winning team, plus Japan’s 2012 Olympics and 2015 World Cup squads — look like she was slipping on ice.
And the worst part for the Japanese defenders? They had time to turn around and watch the ball roll over the line:
Rapinoe is 32, and heading into this season, it looked like she was being phased out of the USWNT’s plans. But there’s no way Jill Ellis can keep her on the bench now. Rapinoe has been the best American attacker in 2017, and this fantastic goal is just the latest in a long string of highlights.
