WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Netherlands forward Lineth Beerensteyn pulled no punches about the absent United States squad at the Women’s World Cup on Thursday, saying the two-times reigning champions should have done their talking on the pitch.
The Dutch drew 1-1 with the U.S. to finish ahead of them atop Group E. The Americans were then eliminated by Sweden in the last-16, the first time in history they had gone out before the tournament semi-finals.
“The first moment when I heard that they were out, I was just thinking yes, because from the start of this tournament they have already a really big mouth, they were talking already about the final and stuff,” said Beerensteyn, who scored in the Netherlands’ 2-0 last-16 win over South Africa.
“I was just thinking you first have to show it on the pitch before you’re talking. And I’m not being rude in that way. I have still a lot of respect for them. But now they are out of the tournament.”
The Netherlands were eliminated in the semi-finals by the U.S. at the World Cup four years ago.
“For me, yeah, it’s a relief and for them, it’s a thing that they have to take with them in the future,” the Juventus striker said. “Don’t start to talk about something that’s far away and I hope that they will learn from that.”
The Americans have suffered a backlash since their shock exit. A pre-tournament ad by U.S. World Cup broadcaster Fox Sports has been lambasted by fans as “arrogant.” The ad opened with the line: “The whole world is wondering, what’s it going to take to stop this US team?”
The ad then shows a number of national stereotypes including a Londoner riding a bus on a rainy day, and an Italian in a leather jacket with binoculars, suggesting “Maybe we can steal their plays” as a drone with Italian flags flies over a USA training session.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing in Sydney; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
