Netherlands forward relishes in USWNT's World Cup elimination

Netherlands forward Lineth Beerensteyn said she was thrilled when the United States was eliminated from the 2023 World Cup on Sunday. Beerensteyn explained the reasoning for her feelings, saying that the Americans were overconfident and had a "really big mouth" heading into the tournament.

"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," Beerensteyn said, per Laia Cervello Herrero of The Athletic. "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 two-time defending World Cup champions fell to Sweden in penalty kicks during the round of 16. It was the Americans' earliest exit in tournament history.

The Dutch earned a 1-1 draw against the Americans in the group stage and won Group E, while the U.S. settled for second place. The 26-year-old striker was a member of the Netherlands squad that fell to the Americans 2-0 in the 2019 World Cup final.

Beerensteyn scored during her team's round of 16 victory over South Africa to help the Netherlands earn a spot in the quarterfinals against Spain. That match will take place at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Beerensteyn said the Americans' elimination is a "relief," but she also offered them some advice for down the road.

"Don’t start to talk about something that’s far away, and I hope that they will learn from that," she said.

The USWNT faced criticism following their group stage finale scoreless draw against Poland, which earned them a spot in the knockout round.
According to a report from The Athletic, Fox Sports "briefly showed footage" of Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn and Megan Rapinoe "dancing at full-time" and captain Lindsey Horan "laughed and applauded." 

Furthermore, Trinity Rodman "posed for photographs with supporters," per the report.

Head coach Vlatko Andonovski called the criticism "insane," saying that his team "wanted to win this game more than anything else, and they did everything they could in preparation for this tournament and in every game."