Rapinoe, Ertz, Altidore and Beckham Voted Into the National Soccer Hall of Fame

Megan Rapinoe and Julie Ertz were elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility, leading a Class of 2027 that also includes Jozy Altidore, David Beckham, indoor great Tatu and builder Lothar Osiander. The group was announced on Thursday, and the induction ceremony is set for April 16 in Frisco, Texas. Rapinoe found out in the most public way possible, with family, friends and fans waiting for her at Seattle-Tacoma airport.

Who made the Class of 2027?

Six people, across three ballots. Rapinoe, Ertz and Altidore were elected on the player ballot, Beckham and Tatu on the veteran ballot, and Osiander on the builder ballot. Rapinoe and Ertz both made it in their first year of eligibility, which is the detail that marks them out: the Hall does not hand first-ballot elections to every great player, and two of them arrived together. Beckham, 51, took the longer road, reaching the Hall through the veteran route after his playing career ended years ago.

Why is Rapinoe’s election the headline?

Because of the career behind it and the way she found out. Rapinoe scored 63 goals and made 73 assists in 203 appearances for the United States from 2006 to 2023, won the World Cup in 2015 and 2019, took Olympic gold, and won the Ballon d’Or in 2019, when she also claimed the Golden Boot and Golden Ball at the World Cup in France. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022. Then, on Thursday, her family, friends and a group of fans surprised her with the news as she came off a flight at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. She said being recognised alongside her teammates and friends was very special, and that it meant she had been part of some great teams.

What did Ertz and Altidore do to get in?

Ertz was the destroyer in two World Cup winning teams. She played in three Women’s World Cups, won the 2015 and 2019 titles, was named US Soccer’s Player of the Year twice, and scored 20 goals in 123 caps from midfield and defence. Most of her club career was with the Chicago Red Stars, from 2014 to 2021, before a short spell with Angel City in 2023, the year she retired. Altidore’s case is goals: 42 in 115 appearances for the United States, the third-highest total in men’s history, across two World Cups, plus the winning goal for Toronto FC in the 2017 MLS Cup final. The current US women’s team is still building its next core, and a red card for hair-pulling in a friendly last month showed how raw that rebuild can get.

Why did Beckham need the veteran ballot?

Because his Hall case is about what he did to American soccer, not only what he won. He won six Premier League titles with Manchester United before joining the LA Galaxy in 2007, when he was already a world superstar, and his arrival brought new attention to MLS. He won two MLS Cups with the Galaxy, in 2011 and 2012, scoring 18 goals in 98 appearances. The lasting move came in his contract: an option to buy an MLS expansion team at a discounted price, which became Inter Miami, a club that joined the league in 2020 and signed Lionel Messi in 2023. That is the growth story the veteran ballot recognised.

Who are Tatu and Osiander?

The two names most fans will not know, and the two that make the class interesting. Tatu, a 64-year-old Brazilian forward, scored 857 regular-season goals over a 21-year indoor soccer career, mostly for the Dallas Sidekicks, and is only the third indoor player ever elected to the Hall. Osiander, an 87-year-old Germany native, coached the US men’s national team from 1986 to 1988 and the under-23 team from 1988 to 1992, with later spells at the San Jose Clash and the LA Galaxy, and was elected on the builder ballot. Indoor soccer and the late-1980s national team rarely share a room with World Cup winners, and this class puts them in one.

When is the induction, and what happens next?

April 16, at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. One reporting wrinkle is worth stating plainly: Field Level Media gives the location as Frisco, where the Hall sits, while the Associated Press copy carried by NBC lists nearby Plano. The date is agreed across the reporting. The ceremony will be the first time this group stands together, and it closes a chapter that started with Rapinoe’s airport surprise. Argentina, meanwhile, has already moved into its own post-Messi era, with Lionel Scaloni signed through 2030 to build the next team, and the Hall class is the American version of the same handover: the players who defined an era, honoured together, on the same night.