The last goodbye!

One by one they have exited the World Cup stage that has been theirs for so long Some like Megan Rapinoe restless and helpless on the substitutesrsquo bench could not hold back their tears Others like Marta or Christine Sinclair who have managed to greet the end with graceSome others will depart over the next few days Some will have a stay of execution for another week or so One or two will have the ending they crave inside the gleaming golden bowl of Sydneyrsquos Wellington Regional Stadium with maybe a trophy in their hands and a grin across their faces But whenever it ends however they react for all of them this will be goodbyeIt has felt at times over the last two weeks as if this World Cup is essentially a valedictory tour for the worldrsquos best players whom we have grown accustomed to glorifying over the yearsGenerational talents Marta Sinclair and Rapinoe have all featured in their final Womenrsquos World Cup and have bid an adieu in a much different place than when they startedJoining them in the group of players ending their international careers is Estefania Banini of Argentina who said itrsquos time to make way for younger players Caroline Seger of Sweden is still playing in the tournament but she has already said that it will be her lastldquoItrsquos emotional Those are some of the greatest football players of all time players that Irsquove looked up tordquo said United States captain Lindsey Horan as her eyes filled with tears ldquoPinoe Sinc both of them I got to play with Marta one of the GOATs Itrsquos hard as a football player to see these guys exiting like this but look at how much they did for womenrsquos football Them on the field their character everything Theyrsquore the reason wersquore all here todayrdquoMarta the Brazilian player once dubbed lsquoPele in Skirtsrsquo by the legendary Pele himself raised the profile of womenrsquos soccer in her home country with her dazzling play that she learned from boys on the streets of Dois Riachos It was her sixth World Cup and she fell short of becoming the first player mdash male or female mdash to score in all sixOut of the thousands of training sessions the former Brazil international took part in over the course of her 13year career there is one in particular that stands out Back in 2000 Rio de Janeirobased club Vasco da Gamarsquos Under15 squad was called up to play in a training match against the seniorsAmong them was a little forward by the name of Marta Viera da Silva who nobody initially paid much attention to ndash until they had to After more than a decade at Brazilrsquos final match the same Marta looked across the field at young teammates Laurinha and Bruninha and realised that there is so much more work to be done for the national teamldquoWomenrsquos football doesnrsquot end here Womenrsquos football in Brazil doesnrsquot end here We need to understand thisrdquo she saidMarta has scored 115 goals for Brazil including a record 17 goals at the World Cup She has been named the FIFA womenrsquos player of the year a record six timesRapinoe 38 announced before the World Cup that it would be her last She will play out the season with her club team OL Reign before retiring from the gameAlso ReadGoodbye Rapinoe the superhero of soccerrsquos rebellionShe finishes as one of the most decorated US players ever In addition to two World Cup titles and Olympic gold and bronze medals she won the prestigious Ballon drsquoOr as well as a FIFA best player award She was also awarded the nationrsquos highest civilian honour the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her social justice workRapinoe was among the players who fought for and won equal pay with the menrsquos national team Her World Cup career ended with a missed penalty The United States were sent out of the tournament in a shootout in the Round of 16 It was the teamrsquos earliest ever exitWhen Sweden eliminated the once dominant USWNT from the 2023 Womens World Cup on Sunday it marked the end of an era It had been 4403 days since the US last felt the sting of World Cup elimination that being the 2011 Womens World Cup final against Japan Now in a little less than two weeks a new World Cup champion will be crownedA disappointed Rapinoe posted a heartfelt farewell on Instagram on ThursdayldquoThis group was so very special and Irsquom immensely proud of every single one of usrdquo she wrote ldquoThis team is in special hands as I walk away just like it always was and always will be Because that is what this team is all about We lay it out on the line every single time Fighting with everything that we have for everything we deserve for every person we possibly can It has been my honour to play for our country with so many incredible women for so many years Thank you a million times overrdquoSinclairrsquos future with the Canadian national team is unsettled although at 40 this was assuredly her final World Cup Canada is set to face Jamaica on Sept 26 in Toronto for a spot in the Paris Olympics next year and Sinclair hasnrsquot said whether shersquoll playSinclair has scored a record 190 international goals most among men and women As captain of the team she was dogged throughout the World Cup by questions about an ongoing contract dispute between the players and Canada SoccerThe womenrsquos team has been playing without a contract for more than a year demanding better pay and treatment After Canada was eliminated in the group stage Sinclair called on her federation to support the team to avoid future early exitsldquoI think more of it is like a wakeup call for our federation mdash the lack of a professional league the lack of support for our youth national teamsrdquo she said ldquoI think yoursquore just going to continue to see teams reach our level surpass us whatever you want to call it if things donrsquot changerdquoSeger 38 has been struggling with a calf injury at the World Cup Sweden advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating the United States on penalties after a scoreless draw and will face Japan on Friday in Auckland It is Segerrsquos fifth World CupSegerrsquos 235 appearances for Sweden are the most for any female player in Europe and although she has two Olympic silver medals and two World Cup thirdplace finishes Sweden has never won a major tournamentldquoFor me to be here with this national team and trying to do that itrsquos my last chance I mean Irsquom not going to play any more World Cups so for me thatrsquos the endrdquo she said ldquoTo be able to hopefully help the team in every way I can to bring home the gold would be of course a dream come truerdquoBanini was in tears following Argentinarsquos final match at the World Cup against Sweden Known as the ldquoMendoza Messirdquo in reference to her hometown she returned to La Albiceleste last year after a lengthy absence over what she said was the poor treatment of the womenrsquos teamldquoI was able to fulfil what I wanted play in the United States play on a great team and play in a World Cup with the national team that was my great dream Irsquom living what I always dreamed ofrdquo she said ldquoI think I achieved everything I fought to improve and now I have to step aside I hope they continue fighting for womenrsquos footballrdquoAlso Read On the rise Five of the Womens World Cups biggest breakout starsWorld Cup 2023 was the last hurrah of the standardbearers for soccerrsquos age of excess Womenrsquos soccer has in effect skipped a generation There is no clutch of readymade heirs to Rapinoe Morgan Marta and the rest waiting in the wings primed to seize their thrones as soon as they retire only a smattering Sophia Smith Mary Fowler Lauren James This generation shone too brightly for anything to grow perhaps it was only when their shadows had lengthened just a little that conditions proved amenableWith AP inputs