Soccer fans were gearing up for the upcoming 2023 Women’s World Cup. An unexpected shootout in Auckland has left thousands of people shocked. In fact, the USWNT squad is also in the same locality due to their World Cup schedule. Amidst all the chaos, US Soccer has been quick to release a few updates. Megan Rapinoe joins hundreds of other fans to mourn the saddening and unexpected deaths.

PM Chris Hipkins also revealed that the situation was now under control. And the soccer competition would go ahead as per the plan. While that’s a sigh of relief for the fans, surely nobody was expecting this in their wildest dreams.

Megan Rapinoe joins thousands of fans to mourn unexpected deaths

Just hours ago, the official US Soccer handle released an official statement. The board extended its deepest condolences to the victim’s families of the shootout. Megan Rapinoe was quick to repost the statement on an Instagram story. The USWNT legend preferred not to say anything during this sensitive phase. Instead, she just put a ‘praying hands emoji’ and a ‘heartbreak’ emoji.

Along with her, hundreds of other fans were mourning the deaths due to gun violence. A fan wrote, “Praying”. Another fan took a stand and quoted, “Gun violence is needed nowhere”. Here are a few other fans who also expressed their condolences. “RIP. God bless all”, “Sending all of the love”. The comments section was full of ‘praying hands emojis’ and ‘heartbreak emojis’.

Among all the positive comments there was another one. The fan addressed the apology to everyone who came to watch the World Cup. He reassured, “There is still much to look forward to!”. On Twitter, US Soccer also released a statement confirming that all the players were safe. They also confirmed that they would be proceeding with their daily schedule.

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Here are some of the reactions from the unexpected shootout in Auckland.

USWNT looking to win third straight World Cup, Rapinoe’s final one

Amid the saddening deaths, the USWNT are gearing up for their upcoming World Cup campaign. In two days, they will kick off their campaign against Vietnam. Unsurprisingly, the USWNT is ‘the favorite’ for winning the competition. This time, they have a rich mix of veterans and youngsters. Players like Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe will lead the line.

While younger players like Trinity Rodman will also have key roles due to injuries in the squad. The USWNT will be looking at winning their third straight World Cup trophy. Sadly, this would also be Rapinoe’s last tournament as she had decided to retire at the end of this season. Be rest assured, the US Women’s National has very capable youngsters of filling those big boots.

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Do you think that the USWNT will lift their third straight World Cup? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.