‘They have a really big mouth’: Dutch forward delights in US World Cup exit

The Netherlands forward Lineth Beerensteyn pulled no punches about the absent United States squad at the Women’s World Cup on Thursday, saying the reigning champions should have done their talking on the pitch. The Dutch drew 1-1 with the US to finish ahead of them and top Group E. The

Americans were then eliminated by Sweden in the last 16, the first time 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.

“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 US at the World Cup four years ago. “For me, it’s a relief and for them it’s a thing 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 pretournament advert by US 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?”

It 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.