Two-time World Cup winner Christen Press announces retirement

Two-time World Cup winner Christen Press will retire at the end of the NWSL season, her club Angel City said Wednesday, leaving a legacy as one of the United States’ most productive and resilient forwards.

The 36-year-old is among the United States’ all-time top scorers, with 64 goals and 155 caps, and was a key figure in the modern golden age of the US national team alongside the likes of Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe.

“It is difficult to find the words to say goodbye to a sport that has defined my life for more than three decades,” said Press, who helped the U.S. team to Olympic bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Games.

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«Football has given me everything and I will really miss being on the field. I want to thank my family, friends, teammates, coaches and the community for this beautiful ride.»

Her career once seemed over after she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear in June 2022 and was absent from the field for more than two years due to a series of operations.

She returned to action in late 2024, in what she described as a comeback from the dead.

“I will not leave this game believing that I was once the best player in the world,” Press wrote in an Instagram post. “But I will feel like I was one of the most loved.”

Published on October 15, 2025