USA and OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe to retire at end of 2023 NWSL season

Megan Rapinoe has announced she will retire at the conclusion of the 2023 NWSL season.

The OL Reign forward is currently preparing to compete for the USA - the two-time defending champions - at the Women's World Cup, which starts this month in Australia and New Zealand.

Rapinoe wrote on Twitter: "I've been able to have such an incredible career, and this game has brought me all over the world and allowed me to meet so many amazing people.

"I feel incredibly grateful to have played as long as I have, to be as successful as we've been and to have been a part of a generation of players who undoubtedly left the game better than they found it.

"To be able to play one last World Cup and one last NWSL season and go out on my own terms is incredibly special."

What is the World Cup schedule?

The group stage will begin on July 20 and run over a two-week period finishing on August 3 and see group winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16, which takes place from August 5 to August 8.

The quarter-finals, which will be held in Wellington, Auckland, Brisbane and Sydney, are scheduled for August 11 and 12.

The first semi-final will then be played on August 15 in Auckland, with the other semi-final taking place on August 16 at the Accor Stadium in Sydney, which will then host the final on August 20.

A third-place play-off will be played the day before the final on August 19 in Brisbane.