Megan Rapinoe, a former US women’s national team player, has offered her take on the US men’s national team’s exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Rapinoe placed the blame on President Trump, citing the distraction caused by his involvement in the team’s affairs.
Trump’s Involvement
One of the biggest stories going into the match against Belgium was the red card and suspension of US star Folarin Balogun. However, when President Trump phoned up FIFA, they allowed Balogun to play using the same rule that allowed Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo to play under similar circumstances.
Rapinoe argued on her podcast that the distraction got to the team and doomed their chances. She stated that the team doesn’t have enough players willing to create off-field distractions by discussing politics, and that this lack of experience with distractions hurt the team.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.