Rapinoe was one of three US players that failed to convert a penalty as Sweden won the shootout 5-4 at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium to advance to the quarter-finals.

It was a cruel ending to Rapinoe’s World Cup career having played a leading role in their triumphs in 2015 and 2019.

Rapinoe described the heartbreaking defeat as a "sick joke" and a "dark comedy" as the US failed to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time in their history.

The shock elimination for the US also led to criticism of social media with Trump slamming the team and poking fun at Rapinoe.

"The 'shocking and totally unexpected' loss by the U.S. Women's Soccer Team to Sweden is fully emblematic of what is happening to the our once great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden," Trump wrote on Truth Social, the social media platform he founded.

"Many of our players were openly hostile to America - No other country behaved in such a manner, or even close.

"WOKE EQUALS FAILURE.

"Nice shot Megan, the USA is going to Hell!!! MAGA (Make America Great Again)."

Criticism was also levelled at Rapinoe by Benny Johnson, chief creative officer at Turning Point USA, an American nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses, who described her as "anti-America" and an "anti-woman activist".

During the World Cup, Rapinoe was accused of "poisoning" the US team with many of the players refusing to sing the American national anthem.

Only five of the 11 players sung along to the Star-Spangled Banner before facing Sweden in the last-16 clash.

The same was the case before the group stage matches against Vietnam, The Netherlands and Portugal.

The muted response has prompted anger among some American fans on social media as they criticised them for showing a lack of respect.

It comes after Rapinoe stated in 2019 that she would "never put my hand over my heart" and "never sing the national anthem again".

The 38-year-old, an outspoken advocate for LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning) rights and gender equality, was among the first high-profile female athletes to take the knee during the anthem from 2016.

It was done to show solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, who took the knee before National Football League matches to raise awareness of police brutality and racial injustice.

Rapinoe sparked a feud with Trump in 2019 when she said that she would refuse to visit the White House if they won the World Cup that year.

Trump hit back at Rapinoe, saying she "should never disrespect our country, the White House or our flag, especially since so much has been done for her and the team".

In another interview following Trump’s criticism, Rapinoe claimed that his message "excludes people that look like me and are me, of course".

"I think that he is trying to divide so he can conquer, not unite so we can all conquer," Rapinoe told Meet The Press in July 2019.

Trump has also previously described Rapinoe as the "woman with the purple hair" and criticised her performance during the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo where the US claimed bronze.

Rapinoe was among a number of American Olympians that celebrated the election of Joe Biden as President in November 2020 after his victory over Trump who had been in office since January 2017.