Megan Rapinoe has been a much-discussed presence on the United States women's national team during the 2019 Women's World Cup, sometimes what she's said off the field. During the tournament, the star attacker has come under fire from various critics, including U.S. president Donald Trump, for different reasons, including her remarks about not wanting to visit the White House .

A day after the USWNT's semifinal win over England, Rapinoe met with reporters in France and was asked about how she feels to be an American.

"I think that I'm particularly and uniquely and very deeply American," Rapinoe said. "If we want to talk about the ideals that we stand for, the song and the anthem, and what we were founded on, I think I'm extremely American."

Rapinoe, who missed the Americans' last game because of a hamstring injury, added that she doesn't expect everyone to agree with her methods of protest.

I think for the detractors, I would have them look hard into what I'm actually saying, the actions that I'm doing -- maybe you don't agree with every single way that I do it, and that can be discussed. I know that I'm not perfect. But I think that I stand for honesty and for truth and for wanting to have the conversation. Looking at the country honestly and saying, easy, we are a great country, and there are many things that are so amazing, and I feel very fortunate to be in this country. I would never be able to do this in a lot of other places. But also: That doesn't mean that we can't get better. It doesn't mean that we shouldn't always strive to be better. I think that this country was founded on a lot of good ideals, but it was also founded on slavery. And I think we just need to be really honest about that, and be really open in talking about that so we can reconcile that and hopefully move forward and make this country better for everyone.

Rapinoe also addressed criticism of teammate Alex Morgan, who pretended to sip a cup of tea after scoring the go-ahead goal vs. England in USWNT's semifinal victory on Tuesday.

"Wah, wah, wah," she told reporters. "It's like, we're at the World Cup. What do you want us to do? We work hard, we like to play hard."