Picture this: you’re up for one of soccer’s highest honors, but instead of applause, others are questioning if you even belong. Lindsey Horan is living that reality, dealing with backlash over her 2024 Ballon d’Or Féminin nomination. But besides Horan, only Megan Rapinoe truly understands what this nomination means to the USWNT captain.

Aside from the Olympique Lyonnais Féminin midfielder, goalie Alyssa Naeher and USA’s star trio of Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson, and Sophia Smith have also been nominated for the Ballon d’Or. Of course, having won the award in 2019, Rapinoe would love to see a player from her own country win the coveted award. “I hope one of us wins it obviously,” she said on the latest episode of A Touch More podcast.

However, the 39-year-old knew the kind of hatred Horan was getting, which forced her to come in defense of the midfielder. “I’m so happy for Lindsay [Horan] being on this list. I know how much it means to her and how much it meant to lead this team to a gold medal.” Even though fans believe Horan didn’t perform well enough to deserve the nomination, Rapinoe feels that this doesn’t diminish the leadership effort the captain displayed. However, that didn’t mean Megan forgot the other USWNT stars on the list.

Heaping praise on the hero between the sticks who has been “stunning for a number of years”, Rapinoe wants Alyssa Naeher to win the Goalkeeper of the Year award. The former OL Reign star also gave a shoutout to Triple Espresso, boldly predicting that the young trio “will be on this list for a very long time.”

“I’m so excited for them and I do think it’s a nice little signaling to the future of the women’s national team, which is similar to the past—which is winning titles and having the best players. I’m into it, so happy for them,” concluded Rapinoe, getting a sigh of relief that the fate of the USWNT is in safe hands. Though she seemed to have approved all five nominees, there’s one thing that doesn’t settle in her eyes!

While defending Lindsey Horan, Megan Rapinoe cautions Ballon d’Or over Naomi Girma’s absence

The “best defender ever” in the eyes of Emma Hayes, Girma was surely one of the surprising absentees in the Ballon d’Or Femenin list. The 25-year-old was remarkable throughout the Olympics campaign to clinch the gold medal. Yet, she remained out of France Football’s sight and wasn’t nominated. This saw Megan Rapinoe send a message to the stakeholders of the award facilitators.

“This will hopefully be the last time she is overlooked,” she remarked. Co-hosting the podcast, the USWNT icon’s fiance and WNBA icon Sue Bird also expressed her remorse over the absence of a star defender. Agreeing with the former OL Reign star, now addressed as Seattle Reign, Bird sighed and added, “Oh, what an omission.”  

Regardless, Rapinoe also expressed her happiness over seeing six NWSL stars—Naeher, Smith, Swanson, Trinity, Barbra Banda, and Tarciane—making it to the nominations. This was because Megan felt that “American soccer gets shaded all the time” in the Ballon d’Or ceremony. Except for Naomi Girma’s snub, at least someone agrees with the 2024 Ballon d’Or nominations!