Did the US Women’s soccer team deserve to be criticized for celebrating their win?

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One of the most infuriating stories happening this week is about the World Cup, and the US Women’s soccer team. On Tuesday, Team USA played Team Thailand and it was an utter beatdown, a historic rout for the American women, with a final score line of 13-0. The American women celebrated every single goal like it was their first and last, high-fiving and hugging and cheering for themselves. And that was the controversy. People yelled at the women for “unsportsmanlike conduct” in… celebrating their goals as professional athletes in the biggest international stage of their lives. Don’t you know that women are never supposed to shine and sparkle and celebrate their achievements? Here’s a good primer on what happened:

The critics argue that Team USA should have, like, stopped celebrating or maybe stopped going for goals at some point when it was clear they were going to win? Which is bullsh-t, because A) it was a historic win and “doing it for the history books” is a great reason to go for it and B) the number of goals scored will likely be very important if Team USA reach a tiebreaker. Plus, no one can convince me that it’s somehow better sportsmanship to STOP competing mid-game just because it’s clear that your team is going to win. They are all professional athletes and it’s disrespectful to not go in for the kill.

Still, the celebrations! Don’t people know that women should never be too boisterous, too happy, too self-congratulatory? Who do they think they are, men? Lindsay Gibbs at Think Progress had an excellent piece about the context in which the American women are playing, as they are currently suing US Soccer for pay equity and increased funding:

It should make us uncomfortable that the inequities in women’s soccer are so massive, that it’s not yet possible to have the field of a 24-team World Cup be competitive from top to bottom. It should make us queasy that many soccer federations don’t even convene training camps for women athletes, let alone arrange official friendly matches against quality opponents to enable those teams to build their ranking and develop their homegrown talent. And it should make us furious that FIFA has failed, time and time again, to both require federations to spend more than 15% of its funds from FIFA on women’s football, and to hold them accountable when they fail to meet even that minimal mark.

It should turn our stomachs that Team USA, the most successful women’s soccer team in the world, is still having to fight for equal pay. The players are currently suing U.S. Soccer for gender discrimination, alleging that, “Despite the fact that [U.S.] female and male players are called upon to perform the same job responsibilities on their teams and participate in international competitions for their single common employer, the U.S. Soccer Federation, the female players have been consistently paid less money than their male counterparts.”

It should make us squirm that the female players decided to take on such a big-time lawsuit right before the biggest tournament of their lives — something many would consider a distraction — because they knew that this is the only time in the next four years that they will receive this much attention. They need every ounce of leverage that they can muster, since U.S. Soccer is so hesitant to endorse equality. The U.S. women believe they must win the tournament to advance this larger cause. Because of that self-imposed burden, every match, every goal at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, takes on a heightened significance.

“They need a result, really, if they want this lawsuit to go well or at least to max out the potential that it has,” Meg Linehan, soccer writer for The Athletic, told ThinkProgress. “If they don’t come home with the trophy, it makes their position a little bit harder. And this is definitely the toughest World Cup that we’ve seen on the women’s side.”

It should make people ashamed that we give professional female athletes so few resources and coverage, that when they do get on the World Cup stage, they are literally playing for their livelihoods, for a moment in the spotlight, for a chance to be seen.

[From Think Progress]

Support women. Support women who celebrate themselves. Stop policing their celebratory behavior as “classless” or “unsportsmanlike.” These women are incredible, and they KNOW they’re incredible. They want you to see that they’re incredible and they know it too.

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154 Responses to “Did the US Women’s soccer team deserve to be criticized for celebrating their win?”

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  1. Becks1 says:

    I said this on twitter, but my question for people who say they should have stopped scoring – what should they have done? Just passed the ball around for 30 minutes? given the ball to Thailand? that would have been more insulting IMO. And, their celebrations by the end WERE more toned down than in the beginning, until they broke the World Cup record and then that caused more celebration. They.broke.the.WC.record. And people are complaining about their celebrations.

    I see comparisons to the Patriots, who tend to run up the score (especially back in their 18-1 season). Often that year the Pats sat their starters by the 4th quarter. But the backups still played their hearts out. Belichick didn’t say to them, “okay go out there and just stand there with the football.” And the substitution rules are different in soccer; you cant just bench the whole team.

    Score differential matters, making a statement mattered, etc. They absolutely should have celebrated their win.

    Honestly, anything less would have been an insult to Thailand.

    • LadyMTL says:

      Becks, while I agree with your overall point I think the “controversy” wasn’t because of the actual score but because the team celebrated many of the goals like it was an historic event.

      I’m not saying they shouldn’t have celebrated after breaking the WC record but it wasn’t just that one time. I have zero problems with anyone celebrating a goal, but there’s a fine line between celebrating and being over the top, and IMHO they crossed that line. (And I would say the exact same thing if it was a men’s team).

      • Becks1 says:

        I just find the whole “they crossed a line” argument to be so arbitrary. What celebration would have been appropriate? Just a high-five? Just smile? (not too big though.)

        As I said I thought they definitely DID tone down their celebrating around goals 5-9 and then when they broke the record they were amped up again.

        ETA and for many the controversy WAS the actual score. “Running up the score is bad sportsmanship” is one of the things I have seen discussed repeatedly over the past few days. Then they moved on from that to “well they celebrated too much.”

      • LadyMTL says:

        It is for sure arbitrary and also a question of personal opinion too – I think that’s why there’s so much talk about it. I don’t generally like the whole “let’s do a team dance” type of celebrating that I’ve seen in several sports (football, soccer) but if someone wants to run around the pitch like a maniac, go nuts, lol.

        I personally don’t have an issue with the final score; like you said, what were they supposed to do? Sit on the grass and take naps?

      • Becks1 says:

        The touchdown dances bother me way more than this, LOL.

        I think if this wasn’t the World Cup, and if they weren’t suing for equal pay, I would have more issues. As it is – you do you ladies.

      • Becks1 says:

        @LadyMTL – someone below commented that they should have stopped scoring. Those are the kinds of comments I’m referring to.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        “the team celebrated many of the goals like it was an historic event.”

        It WAS a historic event!

      • Megan says:

        We’ll never know if the US men’s team would have celebrated the same way because they didn’t qualify for last year’s WC.

      • Mgsota17 says:

        I agree with you LADYMTL. Score as many goals as you want and celebrate…for some it was the first time playing at the World Cup…but it did seem to go overboard with the celebrating at some point. But that’s impossible to “police.” “You and you can celebrate, but not her and not after the 10th goal”…or whatever. So while I think it was too much, I’m not disgusted or pissed or anything. I get semi annoyed when players celebrate like crazy after a free kick…lol. For me, if I feel like it’s something I “should” be doing, making a free kick, beating down the underdog, I wouldn’t be over the top with my celebrations. But whatever. And I would say the same for the men. I’m a woman not trying to hold women back for Pete’s sake. PAY THEM MORE…that’s the real travesty!!

    • Deedee says:

      These women are competitors at the top level of their sport and the idea that they should just sit down when momentum, goal differential and intimidation all count is just ridiculous. This is not just one game. If Thailand was failing miserably, then they need to practice more and play harder. When you make a goal, you celebrate and carry that momentum into the next match. This is professional sports, not youth rec league ffs.

      • Curly says:

        It’s not as simple as just practicing more or playing harder. Thailand women’s sports are not given the same amount of funding, or have the same level of international experience as women’s teams in the US? Celebrating your tenth goal against an underfunded team is unsportsmanlike. You know you’re winning, you know you’re gonna play more games where you can score more and celebrate plenty. They don’t need to sit down, but they do need to have some empathy for the other team.

      • ASDA says:

        “Practice more & play harder”
        Excuse me? Do you know how disdainfully women’s sports is viewed in many parts of the world? How underfunded it is? Thai women don’t even get funded by the government rather a private organisation.
        Have some empathy.

    • knotslaning says:

      I have had so many conversations about this since Tuesday. I manage girls soccer teams, I am on the board of a youth soccer league, I have two daughters (8 and 10) who have played soccer for years, my husband played soccer, I played soccer, my dog plays soccer (!), I watch soccer every weekend, I have season tickets to our MLS team and so I feel like this opinion is based on education and experience.

      There is so much sexism in sports. There are so many more opportunities and so much more support for boys. I have to fight for equality in our league on the reg but this particular conversation about the USWNST is not based on sexism. I would never tell my kids to stop scoring in a one-sided match like this but I do (and have) told my kids to slow down the pace of the game, pass more and not celebrate as much when they score. It was the celebrations that made it hard to watch, and left us feeling uneasy after the match. They make rules in youth leagues and professional leagues about excessive celebrations and it can get you a penalty or kicked out of the game.

      So, as much as I love the game, and this team, I’m not proud of their display. However, go USA!

      • TQB says:

        But that’s youth sports. Kids are playing for fun and for the experience of being on a team and pushing themselves to accomplish something – something that isn’t accurately measured by the number of goals or who wins or loses. What we’re talking about here is completely different. These are professional athletes playing to be crowned The Best in the World. You go to the World Cup to dominate, to prove you are the best. The US women showed excellent sportsmanship to their opponents by playing a good clean game, shaking up before and after and generally respecting them as fellow professionals.

      • Some chick says:

        I agree so much with this.

        I’m also replying because I have a friend with a dog who plays soccer! His cookouts are always the greatest, because his dog plays soccer with the kids! It’s the funnest!

        You are also correct that there is SO MUCH SEXISM in sports.

        This is actually part of why I love the soccer playing dog so much. He doesn’t care if it’s girls or boys. He just wants to play.

    • Wigletwatcher says:

      To celebrate a goal is showing you overcame the opposing defense. If it was easy… you don’t bother. If they stopped celebrating it could be taken as an insult that the opposition wasn’t a challenge.
      This is dumb and sounds like sore losers.

      • Nah says:

        As someone whos been watching soccer their whole life, this just isnt true. 99% of the time in soccer teams chill down their celebrations if they’re so clearly in the lead to show respect to the losing team. Partially also because everyone has already scored multiple times and it just isnt as impactful anymore.

      • xpresson says:

        That is correct nah..that is what typically happens, and it is interpreted as respect towards the losing team who will feel humiliated after a colossal loss.

      • Wigletwatcher says:

        These athletes got caught up in their moments. I guess, let’s shame these ladies playing their hearts out?
        Honestly, I’ve watched soccer. I’ve seen it go both ways. Someone usually complains. Especially, about the winners.

    • Courtney says:

      This. Thank you for ALL your comments. I’m mind blown by some of the others. I just can’t with the comparisons to someone’s high school experience, or their kids soccer league. This was the freaking World Cup. The players are professionals. They made history and set records. They did it while simultaneously fighting for equality. They rightfully celebrated each player’s victories. Sweet baby Jesus, what is wrong with people? Thank you and all the other sane people on this thread 🙂

      • Curly says:

        What were the women on the other team doing? Were they also not fighting for equality? The US team was celebrating over a dozen goals against an underfunded women’s team they knew they were going to beat before they even stepped foot on the field. People aren’t complaining about the US team celebrating themselves and their accomplishments, they were complaining about their unsportsmanlike behaviour. Being professionals at the World Cup doesn’t just mean scoring goals, it means understanding that you have to have respect for your opponent, even when the stakes are high.

    • Nicole(the Cdn one) says:

      I think stating that the criticism is sexist oversimplifies the issue. I’ve been a hockey fan my entire life and if you run up the score, you don’t celebrate. And you certainly don’t celebrate like each on is the game winning goal. In hockey, it is considered bad sportsmanship.

      I’m not a soccer fan, but if people who are are also fans of other sports, they may apply the same principles and it therefore would not matter whether they are women or not, running up the score and celebrating is frowned upon.

    • Greenleaf22 says:

      I coach teenage girls for a high level club lacrosse team and I would never let my team act like that when we are crushing a less talented team. Learning how to win and lose graciously is one of the most valuable part of sports. Now there are going to be young women and girls running thinking that it makes you weak to show grace and humility when beating an under matched opponent. It makes me sad that people are framing this as a sexism issue because it takes away from the hundreds of other issues in sports that are actually sexist. Men should t celebrate excessively either.

  2. SamC says:

    The whole team celebrating every goal like it was the end of the game or a winning penalty shot was OTT. The individuals celebrating after they scored, sure, the team congratulating and the end of the game, absolutely. And no, I don’t think they needed to stop trying to score.

    As for “oh, men do it,” and with the caveat it’s been years since I’ve sat and watched a game all the way through, there are the TD end zone and high fives when someone hits a homer and goes back to the dugout, but it’s not the entire team linking arms, etc. every single time someone scores. Even in the World Series, Super Bowl, the men’s World Cup games I’ve attended, etc.

    • astrid says:

      Seemed a bit over the top to me too.

    • runcmc says:

      Yeah, it truly is unsportsmanlike conduct for men AND women. When I was on my high school water polo team, there were some teams in our district that had significantly worse funding/coaching/players and they were *always* destroyed. Our coach actually punished us for “beatdown” wins. If we were winning by 5, we had to do 10 pushups for every goal outside of that we scored. No exceptions. When we were at different tournaments/regions we didn’t know, the same rule applied. Winning by more than 5 (in games where scoring is one point) is just intentionally humiliating your opponent- that’s what I was taught as an athlete growing up and I still believe that.

      Good for them for making history and I’m proud that they won, but rubbing the humiliation of being destroyed in Thailand’s face is bad sportsmanship plain and simple.

      • Becks1 says:

        So what should they have done? Just stood there on the field?

        It’s the WORLD CUP. It’s not high school water polo. Of course they should have scored as many goals as they could.

      • runcmc says:

        @Becks1

        No, they could keep scoring of course. It was historic! But I was taught in high school that it’s unsportsmanlike to keep scoring and rub it in someone’s face. Our coach tried to teach us to be fair. I was using my own experience as an example. I think winning 13-0 is legit when the stakes are this high!!! It’s the world cup!!!

        The problem I had with this is the over-the-top celebration after each goal. The other team gets it. They’re getting destroyed. At the very least don’t rub their faces in it. THAT is the point I’m trying to make, and using my background to illustrate that there are coaches who try to drill this type of thing into children as they grow up so they don’t become the kind of adults that practically laugh in the faces of other professionals.

      • detta says:

        Yes to this. I don’t know how many on here have grown up following this sport – I come from a footballing family and it is sort of ingrained in our DNA – but celebrating like this after a certain point is not good sportsmanship at all. Should they have stopped scoring? Absolutely not. Win twenty nil if you want. BUT stop celebrating like this after the seventh or eight, against an opponent you are clearly destroying on the pitch. Small winning gestures, smiles, all fine. But this was too much. I have seen male teams win with such huge goal differences every now and again over the years and cannot remember one game in which the celebrations did not switch to a more muted version from a certain number onwards. At least once you get into double digits, darn, dial it down!

        And as much as I like this blog, but this has nothing to do with women not being allowed to celebrate. Exactly the same point would and should be made with male teams. I always find it… difficult… when we as women want to be treated equal to men and then react like this towards (justified) criticism. Same as most on here I look at most things, as someone else put it, with a feminist angle. However, in sports the rules of fairness and sportsmanship are for everybody.

      • xpresson says:

        Well said Detta! perfectly explained.

    • Aang says:

      Made them seem like bullies.

    • Xi Tang says:

      Kinda agree with @ostone below. There’s definitely a double standard. This however is not the case (although I’m sure there’s sexism in the mix, let’s not kid ourselves).
      The over the top celebration of your 8th, 9th, 10th …goal and against a lesser team. It was crass, c’mon. Barcelona FC used to be like that during the hey days of Pep’s years. And they used to get called out every time. Even their captain (Puyol) used to stop the celebrations when they go OTT.

    • Erinn says:

      Yeah, I tend to agree with you and LadyMTL on this. I don’t have a problem with them cheering over scoring – I don’t have a problem with them high fiving and being genuinely pumped. But there’s a certain point where it’s like “okay – you’re destroying the other team, you have been all game.” unless it’s someone who rarely gets a chance on net, I don’t think we need a huge celebration until the end of the game after a certain point.

      But I find the over the top cheering in any sport. Unless something happened that’s super rare, or record breaking there is a bit of a line between cheering your teammates on and rubbing it in the face of the other team. But at the same time, it’s somewhat subjective.

      I definitely don’t like that they’re getting more heat than a lot of men’s sports do, though. That’s just stupid.

    • USWNT stan says:

      I disagree, I don’t know if you follow soccer or not, but of the goals that were scored:
      – 2 by Sam Mewis, first World Cup
      – 2 by Rose Lavelle, first World Cup
      – 1 by Mallory Pugh, first World Cup
      – 1 by Lindsey Horan, first World Cup
      – 5 by Alex Morgan, tied now with Michelle Akers in the most goals scored in a World Cup
      – 1 by Carli Lloyd, tied for scoring in 5 straight World Cup games
      – 1 by Megan Rapinoe

      You are going to tell these ladies, that they shouldn’t celebrate something that they have been working towards for years and have been dreaming about for years, not to celebrate because it will make the other team feel bad?

      What was over the top about their celebrations? they ran to each other and hugged each other, etc. If you watched women’s soccer, especially the USWNT you would know that their goals celebrations for this game, were no different than their goal celebrations in any other game.

      The fact that we are having this conversation at all is just complete crap.

      • Becks1 says:

        THANK YOU. Which of those women should not have celebrated? The ones in their first World Cup? The ones tying records? Rapinoe?

      • Kittycat says:

        If I were there coach I would have told them that this is a long tournament and not to get carried away with celebrating.

      • Deedee says:

        Completely agree. Celebrate your achievements. Don’t let people nitpick your success.

  3. Becks1 says:

    I also want to add that my first grader loves to wear soccer kits to school. He has two Ronaldo, two Messi, Kane (Mbappe is coming today lol). He also has an Alex Morgan kit and loves it. I feel like that says something about the impact of these women.

  4. ariel says:

    I recall the media bitching about a team of black boys in little league world series for celebrating “wrong” a number of years back, and women of course, can’t celebrate correctly.
    Thank goodness we have white men, who, no matter how they behave, are always right.

    • 86amaria says:

      This.

    • Esmom says:

      Yes. I didn’t see the game but nothing I saw in these clips seemed any more excessive than a TD celebration in the end zone or a HR burst of cheer in a dugout. It’s depressing that this “controversy” has overshadowed such a historic win.

    • Audrey says:

      +100

    • Original Jenns says:

      And if the men fall down on the job, we have plenty of women right here to remind us! Thank goodness this is just like the high school/little league teams they played in.

    • Americano says:

      You must not watch hockey where white players celebrating too much or being too emotional is regularly criticized.

  5. ds says:

    i didn’t see the game so i can’t say if it’s too much, but oh please – have we not seen men’s football last summer – they celebrate too, c’mon.

    • Becks1 says:

      I saw one person comment that “the US Men’s team doesn’t celebrate like that” and I was like, well you let me know when the US men are back in the World Cup and we can see how they celebrate lol.

      • La says:

        Lol @becks1. I just saw the men’s team play on Sunday against Venezuela and they were terrible. They were completely outplayed and made some horrible decisions. I’m so glad the women are fighting for their pay because they have so much more talent than the current men’s team and deserve way better.

      • Cee says:

        The US Male team is outclassed in every WC. IDK why the Female team is great while the Male team is… not. It seems like only girls play football.

  6. OriginalLala says:

    I used to play soccer at the provincial level (in Canada) and I was always taught starting at a very young age that if we are winning by a huge margin and the teams are clearly un-equally matched, it’s not very sportsman like to keep making a huge scene every time we scored. I was on both mixed and women’s only teams.
    Was this un-sportsman like behavior? I think so. Did it deserve to cause such a controversy and brou-haha? no, that was just misogyny plain and simple. It’s not an either/or situation. I also suspect the “controversy” was linked to anti-American feelings

    • jeanne says:

      i’ve played sports my entire life. when your A team is running up a score then the coach should put in the B and the C team to not embarrass the other team.

      this isn’t a woman/man thing to me. it’s sportsmanship. there’s no reason to act like every goal is the best in the world. these players and coaches should get a dressing down. people here have used the argument “well nobody says anything when men do it”. Who cares? that doesn’t make it right. if my daughter or son acted like that during a game they would have an earful in the car on the way home.

      i’m sorry but that wasn’t sportsmanship. that was showboating. it’s gross to me regardless of gender.

    • deezee says:

      It was completely unsportsman-like I agree. I don’t think they should have stopped playing their game but quieter celebrations as it went on would have been better.

      And the sentiment isn’t entirely anti-American but just further proof the rest ofthe world thinks Americans are a$$holes on the whole and it just continues to emphasize why the rest of the world can’t stand them.

      • Wow says:

        I think a lot of comments in here not being able to understand why this is inappropriate is really a testament to why these women did it. The arrogance and bullying side of American culture really seeps in us all.

        No one said they should stop scoring, thats an intentionally obtuse argument.

        No one said their accomplishments were less important.

        But my god when commentors and other teams from all over the world are saying they acted like jerks and it was inappropriate its time to listen. We’re talking about global criticism for unsportsmanlike conduct. Listen and stop trying to justify it.

      • Minime says:

        Thank you @wow
        What a lot of people seem to not understand is that this doesn’t feel like a female/male question but a American ego/rest of the world (sorry fellow Americans but some are sometimes over the top).
        For people that actually are used to watch football, and specially European football, this way of celebrating is obviously not model behaviour. Many people already said that there are many examples there, like Germany just some days ago winning for 8-0 to Estonia after a actually really bad season and not celebrating like this (not even complaining for wrongly rejected goals). That is even more important and the opponent clearly has a lower status.

        I can certainly believe that many people comment on this from a machist perspective and you’re right to be upset. But maybe be a bit humble to also hear the women from different cultures commenting on it from a cultural perspective. Good job by the way!

      • Redgrl says:

        @deezee & @wow – that was my thought. Sexism in sport, yes, but also many people viewing it as yet another example of American arrogance in sport. There’s a reason so many non-Americans cheered when Lindsay Jacobellis was leading in the boardercross in the Turin Olympics, showed off by doing a big fancy jump to celebrate on the last roller(before passing the finish line), fell over and had to watch the list placed riders pass her to win instead. Her arrogance cost her her gold medal and the non-American audience cheered wildly. Not sure the US realizes (or cares) how they are perceived at these events…

      • Angie says:

        Not everything is about gender. Every athlete knows this behavior was rude and unsportsmanlike. They are representing the US and playing into every stereotype of an American. It’s horrible to loose in a beat down. It’s even worse to loose in a beat down to a bunch of arrogant a-holes.

    • rosamund12 says:

      I hadn’t thought of the anti-american angle, but of course you’re probably right. From outside the country, that U.S.A.!! chant wears a little thin. Honestly, I thought it was common knowledge that you tone it down when the score gets too lopsided. Thinking of certain hockey games where one team goes up 8 or 10 goals. If they keep up the bench-wide high-fives, you definitely hear about it in the paper the next day, and in all the press conferences.

      • AryasMum says:

        The chant wears thin from inside the USA, too. I can’t stand it. It feels like an attempt to shout down other country’s fans.

    • Maria TR says:

      Also a lifelong soccer player and totally agree with what you said. I get that you want to score as much as you can in a World Cup game, but it’s just unsportsmanlike to go nuts over every goal. We would have been strongly discouraged from doing that. The other team was in tears. Not a good look. Save it for the locker room. I am the biggest feminist there could be, so can see there may be a sexist angle to the controversy, but I still think they crossed a line.

  7. Ninks says:

    They were entitled to celebrate, especially players who scored their first World Cup goal, and they certainly shouldn’t have held back from scoring if they were able to. But the celebrations did feel excessive. 13 goals against a very poor side in the first round don’t need to be celebrated in the same way that the winning goal in a world cup final would be celebrated. It felt unsporting to me. (Although the soccer world really doesn’t have much of a platform for moralizing about fair play anyway.)

    TBH, I kind of feel it was anti-Americanism rather than sexism.

  8. OSTONE says:

    I was waiting for this post to be included! So thank you! Men (and surprisingly, few women) have been all up in their feelings regarding the badassery and talent of the USWNT. Why is humility always expected when women are the ones celebrating a victory? Why didn’t anybody say anything when the Germany’s Men National team murdered Brazil 7-1 in the 2014 World Cup and they celebrated their goals? Or when the USA’s Men Basketball team destroys any other opponent once and once again because they are the best? Why is it a big deal when Serena Williams gets emotional yet nothing is said of her male counterparts? Some of the women on the pitch scored their first EVER goal in a World Cup. The biggest stage there is for soccer worldwide, while they are involved in litigation that undermines their work and blatantly discriminated against them. This world and our society is meant to keep women down, and the USWNT are saying hell naw, celebrating AND showing us (and the USA Men National Team to boot) how it’s DONE. Well done, ladies.

    • Becks1 says:

      THANK YOU. Some of these comments are blowing my mind. I may have to step away from this thread.

      You celebrate your win ladies.

    • Rivkah says:

      But Germany decided to stop celebrating after their fourth goal in order to not embarass the host country even more…

    • jeanne says:

      ok, i’ll bite here. i think there’s a time and a place. for instance, in a final championship game… ya run up that score, show everyone you’re the best in the world. playing a crappy team in the beginning of a tournament, let’s settle down a little bit.

      humility is what is missing in this world lately – for MEN and women. and so is respect. i’m 36 and when i was growing up we were taught that when we played sports. team sports is where you first learned to deal and work with others.

      and as for serena and her “passion”. i love her. i love tennis. but there’s a reason bjorn borg is more respected than john mcenroe and it’s not just because he won more majors.

      • Becks1 says:

        LOL I’m 37. I will tell you that my brothers and I were for sure not taught humility when we played sports. We were taught to win. And yes, to be a good sport about it, but to win and to play the best you could.

        these women clearly know how to work well with others, its why they were able to score so much.

      • Jeanne says:

        That’s an interesting perspective. I won 2 state titles in team sports in high school. We were obviously taught to win too. But we were also taught to not be assholes. Amazing how you can be taught both.

      • Becks1 says:

        And I don’t think these women were assholes.

        I’m just calling BS on your argument that “in my day, we were taught….”

        these women are playing at a much higher level than anyone here has played. And they dominated. Good for them.

      • jeanne says:

        haha, when mentioned i was 36 it wasn’t meant as “in my day” it was meant as i’m not too much older than. haha. f*ck me.

      • jeanne says:

        and @becks1, this is just friendly banter on my part. arguing points of view is fun. i appreciate your take on the situation. yes, these women deserve to celebrate. i just thought it was a little too much that’s all.

      • Jaded says:

        @becks you can dominate and still respect your opposing team. I’m not saying they shouldn’t have scored 13 goals, I am saying they didn’t need make such a big deal about goal 8,9,10 and so on. They can be proud of their accomplishment without all the over the top celebrations. And before anyone says anything, I expect the same from male teams. It was just too much

    • Valois says:

      Have you even seen the Brazil-Germany game? Germany toned it down a lot after the third goal or something. They got a ton of praise from International media (and Brazilian journalists) for being respectful and considerate. They would have received a ton of hate had they not done that.

      • OSTONE says:

        Yup, not American so soccer (football) it’s a HUGE part of my culture – a religion almost. I watched it, they celebrated. They didn’t go to the bench and danced, but they also didn’t break a record nor have something to prove by suing their federation to get equal pay (nor superior) for a far better job than their counterparts who just happen to be male. Celebrating or not celebrating is everyone’s prerogative. Policing their crime of being happy and joyful for their huge accomplishment is the asshole move here, in my opinion! I saw headlines today that Rapinoe is getting criticized for not singing the National Anthem when Dempsey and Donovan didn’t sing it either in their heyday and nobody has said a peep. It’s the double-standard that sucks.
        BECKS1 – you deserve all the internet points today!

      • Valois says:

        Their celebration was as minimal as it gets and super toned down. You can barely call it a celebration compared to the excessiveness we usually see. Which is exactly why people did talk about it- by praising the team for toning it down.
        Honestly I think you picked the worst comparison you could have and you’re doubling down instead of focusing on the other, much more valid parts of your argument.

        Tbh I can’t comment on the other things you’ve mentioned cause I don’t follow football that closely and I’m not educated enough to speak on the National Anthem issei’s.

    • Cee says:

      Did you actually watch the Brazil-Germany game? Germany stopped celebrating past goal 4. They actually returned from half time and decided they would not humiliate their opponent. They scored 3 more goals (Brazil scored 1), they were happy, but they did not run to the sidelines every time for a group hug and a self congratulatory show.

      I’m all for women not being policed in sport – but in this instance the criticism is well deserved. Like when they lose and they undermine their rival or cry like babies. That’s poor sportsmanship, too.

      • Kittycat says:

        @OSTONE

        What a bad comparison.

      • Lady D says:

        I remember that. It Hope Solo who insulted the Swedes by calling them a bunch of cowards after her team’s loss to Sweden. Didn’t it cost Hope her soccer career?

    • Ninks says:

      The Brazilian men’s soccer team are legendary. The most successful country of all time, purveyors of the beautiful game and always expected to do well at the World Cup. The Thai women’s team are not remotely comparable to Brazil. Brazil v Germany was a match of equals. USA v Thailand was very much David V Goliath. And Goliath won by crushing David and then celebrating each blow.

    • Ella says:

      As a German and soccer fan I have to tell you that your example is totally wrong because our men stopped celebrating like that! In addition to that Brazil vs Germany was a match between equals. The US team vs the Thai team is totally not a match between equals. I (as a woman and soccer fan) thought it was absolute unsportsmanlike behavior and it was typical for what a lot of people think of the American nationalism and “we are better than anyone” belief. I didn’t like it all and it turned me off of this team.

  9. Karen2 says:

    No. In the mens world cup all the match winners in the knockout stage celebrate like they’ve actually won the trophy itself. Its an old argument but presumably they went into the game focused on “being the best”. Its not the teams fault if the Thais were less than their best. You can only play whats in front of you. Nothing worse than losing by a single goal to a crap team. Hope said they overcelebrated. Ok. She jinxed the team & they’ll probably lose in the next round.

  10. Eliza says:

    This complaint happens to the mens team’s as well. When you’re 10 goals (in soccer that’s a lot!!!) ahead of another team, celebrating looks like bad sportsmanship because you’re obviously playing a less skilled team and just shoving it in their face. They do slow down the game and just kick it around, or get criticism.

    • Cee says:

      Just 5 goals is a lot. Men are held to this standard, too, so I think some people have really no idea about football and only watch the female USA team.

  11. Billbop says:

    I find soccer so boring because people usually don’t score. So if anyone, men or women, score that big they should be able to celebrate as much as they want!

    Our culture gives trophies to everyone these days for fear of offending the losers. Get over it!

  12. 86amaria says:

    F**k these guys. All they should police is their own dicks.

  13. Kelley Bentley says:

    As a soccer mom (of a boy and two girls), I thought the massive celebrations toward the end of the game were over the top. Keep scoring, keep celebrating but not with the whole bench running to the sideline. Even my 9 year old daughter said it was disrespecting to thailand especially when the team was close to tears at the end of the match. I get that this is a huge dream for many kids so I understand in the heat of the game to be OTT but I don’t get that people don’t complain when men celebrate because at least in the lopsided men’s games I see, I don’t see that type of celebrating from the men.

  14. Walking alive says:

    It’s not that they shouldn’t celebrate its that They were gloating and cocky with each goal knowing they were the better team. You can celebrate but be a little humble. When they lose they r real cry babies too. Show some class

    • Li says:

      This! They are the worst losers.

    • Lady D says:

      Scoring 13 goals in a soccer game is practically unheard of! It’s an amazing score. The cocky comes from earning elite, world class athlete status. Kinda goes with the territory. But yeah, it seemed they were gloating, and that was a bad look for any athlete.

  15. CROWHOOD says:

    I think The very important thing to realize is that total goals over the course of the tournament factors in to a potential win at the end if there is a tie. Additionally, they were going for a record. Also, it’s a long series of games. It’s hard to turn off your competition and then turn it back on. Also soccer only has limited substitutions allowed so it’s not like they can sit their starters. Also, it’s professional sports. It’s not jv soccer. Is this really an issue? I give Up.

    • Eliza says:

      Yes. But US is going to be top of their group, period. Even with a 5-0 game they’d clinch a goal differential head start if needed. They cleared the bench to celebrate every goal. Not the first, or the last, or a tie breaker. The Thai women were visibly distraught about to cry, and they cleared the bench as if it was the best goal ever 13x. One or two times, sure. But 13 times! It’s excessive.

    • Goldie says:

      Thank you @crowdhood. I keep reading people saying things like “At my child’s match, this would never be allowed”.
      But the thing is, this wasn’t a children’s soccer match. This was the World Cup. These are all adult, professional women, competing at the most important tournament in their field.
      I mean, I felt sorry for the Thai players, but I also don’t agree that the U.S. women needed hold back either in their scoring or celebrations.
      And it also seems strange to compare this match to a group of 12 year olds playing a recreational football game.

      • Becks1 says:

        YES. I feel sorry for the Thai players. But I always feel sorry when people lose matches like this, at this level, even by one goal.

        But the comparisons to rec soccer or “what we were taught growing up” are just ludicrous.

        Did people not read the article Kaiser posted??

      • OriginalLala says:

        Becks1 – I have to disagree. I played highly competitive soccer for my whole life, into adulthood, on my way to the national team when a series of concussions knocked me out of the game for good. I was also a referee afterwards for years, again for highly competitive soccer leagues. So please don’t just blindly dismiss our experiences and opinions as if we know nothing.

      • Erinn says:

        “But the thing is, this wasn’t a children’s soccer match. This was the World Cup. These are all adult, professional women, competing at the most important tournament in their field.”

        But … that sounds a lot like sportsmanship doesn’t matter once you’re an adult. I mean, children have a harder time controlling their emotions, but we expect them to have good sportsmanship. Why does that go out the window with adults?

      • Tourmaline says:

        So sportsmanship DOESN’T matter at the highest levels? I think it matters more there.

    • Cee says:

      No. Once they move on to the next round, goals scored during Group Phase do not matter, at all.
      Also, they could have scored 5 goals and it would have been enough. Sure, records are important so they went for it and kept scoring. Nothing wrong about that. What’s wrong is being obnoxious about it, and celebrating each goal as if they were about to win the match of their lives, the FINAL, while being underdogs (which they’re not).

  16. BruinsFan says:

    Look, I am a huge women’s soccer fan. I covered high school and college sports for years. I have seen some serious blowouts. I have absolutely no problem with the US team scoring 13 goals, in fact it was encouraged considering the tiebreaker. But I did not like the amount of celebrating on the last few goals. The run over to the bench, mobbing each other on goal 10 or 11 or 12 was too much.

    I have watched almost every level of sport, men and women, and there is a certain point where the celebrations back off. Almost every coach I have watched or played for has told us or their players too back off the celebration.

    At some point, it starts to feel like rubbing it in the faces of a clearly outclassed opponent. And I will say this about men’s teams, women’s teams and professional teams. I have absolutely no problem with the score and continuing to play hard but at some point you have to read the situation and back off the celebration.

    This all being said, what a stupid controversy. And no the US men will never have to deal with this because they are awful and will never be up 3 goals on a team much less 13, which makes the pay gap all the more infuriating.

  17. Kylie says:

    I think the complaining about women celebrating is OTT. This reminds me a bit of the made up controversy with the 2010 Canadian women’s hockey team celebrating when they won the Olympics.

  18. Michael says:

    Fair or not these women need to consider the optics. This is likely the biggest spotlight they will ever have and it will be used to score commercial contracts and endorsement money. How the public perceives them has a direct influence on their marketability.

  19. Mellie says:

    My husband and I had this debate last night. He’s been a long time coach of our three girls and then before they were old enough to play coached several boys teams over the course of the years…in various sports, basketball, baseball, softball, cross country. He is not a fan of any celebrations in sports….no matter who is doing the celebrating, male or female. His stance always has been, let your talent/hard work do the talking for you and always have good sportsmanship and he feels like sometimes too much celebrating crosses the line in any sport that either sex is involved. That being said, we both agreed that the number of goals was important, there was no need to play cat/mouse with Thailand and pass the ball around, how insulting would that have been to that team!?
    And I’m so non-athletic that if I scored the 1st goal or the 13th goal of that game I would have celebrated like I just won the Powerball, so I hope they keep on keeping on. He respectfully disagreed with the celebrating, not the winning big 🙂

  20. Incredulous says:

    When you’re making history and know you’re making history, how should you act? Answers, please, from those who have done both.

  21. Nope says:

    Sportsmanship: how you show yourself when you win or lose. US certainly showed themselves – and not in a good way. Obnoxious and disrespectful.

  22. line says:

    I think the controversy is not really centered on the fact that they are women, but a question of respect.The USA team largely dominated the match, as Thailand was a very weak team which is normal in the group stage matches, or teams was strong have the chance to be confronted with teams is more weaker, where they can largely dominate. On this match have is clearly in this situation, so theirs celebration was exaggerated because is was just group stage matches, the most difficult will begin during the stage of 8 group round .

  23. Cee says:

    No. It was over the effing top and it is poor sportsmanship in football, whether you like it or not.
    When Germany steamrolled Brazil 7-1 in the 2014 WC, the player who scored would celebrate his goal and then move on. Germany didn’t throw a circus show every time they scored. They knew they had it in the bag and they kept doing their thing. Same goes to every other national team. When they realise the opposing team has no way of overturning the game, they keep playing without humiliating their rivals.
    USA did just that – they kept playing, of course*, and would celebrate each goal as if they were winning THE LAST GAME, EVER. It’s poor sportsmanship all across the board.
    Fans can cackle all they want – players should know better.

    *It’s not about not playing anymore. Keep playing. Keep scoring. But do not rub it in the faces of a team that has been outclassed and out-gamed and that, by all accounts, never stood a chance.

    • Cee says:

      It’s also pathetic behaviour considering it was a Group match. It wasn’t even the QF or Final.

    • Terotauko says:

      @Cee agree, and let’s not forget that the Germany Brazil match was the semi finals and the win took Germany into the finals, so a much more important game than this one. And yet they didn’t excessively celebrate either during or after the match.

  24. Valois says:

    Iirc, the German men’s football team got a lot of praise after beating Brazil 7-1 in the WC semi-final 2014 because they did tone down their celebrations once it was obvious they were gonna win and didn’t start a massive celebration on the field after the match (and talked to Brazilian players instead). It’s not super uncommon to score high* against small countries and I’ve seen quite a few journalists arguing that you should tone down celebration once it’s clear you’re on track to win the match.

    * The World record is obviously something that should be celebrated.

    I’m really not convinced the criticism is 100% down to sexism.

  25. Laura says:

    I disagree, it’s not about supporting women who celebrate their wins, it’s considered classless and lack of sportsmanship when men do it too. I think about the 2014 World Cup final when Germany absolutely hammered destroyed with 7 goals, out of respect they stopped celebrating like crazy after each score after a while. Or even when Italy was destroyed by Spain in the Euro Cup ’12 where Spain won by 4-0, I remember distinctively that some Spanish players even proposed to finish the match earlier in order not to further humiliate them lol.
    All of this to say that the optics would have been way better if the team had stop celebrating in an OTT fashion way before their last goals.

  26. Becks1 says:

    This is my last comment on this post, because some of these comments are just bananas, but:

    Did people not read the article Kaiser linked? Seriously. It lays out why this was so important.

    This win is going to help the women’s soccer team get equal pay. It’s not going to be the sole factor, but you better believe its going to help. Of course they were effing celebrating.

    • Kittycat says:

      Person are can form their own opinions with reading an article.

    • Nope says:

      My kids play competitive sports. I would not want them to model themselves after the US team’s behavior during that game. Completely ungracious.

    • Valois says:

      That should be the centre of discussion!
      Not some “when men do it the reaction is totally different” argument you see in the comments here which is flat-out inaccurate.
      Equal pay is a gender issue, the “don’t celebrate too much” rule when you’re pretty much destroying your opponent is not.

  27. Kittycat says:

    I think people are framing this completely wrong.

    This is about over celebrating goals after you are up a certain point.

    It is gross regardless if its men or women playing.

  28. rrabbit says:

    This is the World Cup. The highest stage in the world, not some friendly match between teams of fifth graders. Goal difference in all group matches is the most important tie breaker.

    Yes, in the group stage you run up the score to ensure that you will advance. No, you are not obliged in any way to stop celebrating.

  29. Sof says:

    It’s an unspoken rule in futbol: When a team or player is clearly superior to their rival, they are expected to act accordingly. Otherwise it’ll be seen as poor sportmanship.
    Here in Argentina it got to the point where players don’t celebrate goals scored against their former teams. If they do celebrate they are heavily criticized.

    • Elisa says:

      same with the European teams: if footballers score against their former teams – especially in their first matches for the new team – they tone it down a lot.

  30. Laura says:

    A lot of you clearly don’t follow “soccer” competitions regularly and it’s ok, but don’t make this a gendered issue because it ain’t.
    It’s considered classless when men do it too and in the most important competitions like the World Cup they REFRAIN from doing it.

  31. Datootfary says:

    It’s the WORLD CUP. They’ve spent their whole lives dreaming of playing, much less scoring, in a World Cup game. Most of those who scored were playing in their first WC. It was a dream come true and of course they would celebrate. Giving less than their all would have been insulting to Thailand. Also, people forget that Goal Differential is a thing in soccer. People get so bent out of shape when women celebrate like men. These women have been more successful than the men’s team, yet are fighting for equal pay. Let them celebrate.

    • Kath says:

      They are not celebrating like men, as even the men’s football teams refrain from such disrespectful behaviours. There are many examples throughout all of these comments.
      I would never root for a team this arrogant, the worst demonstration of American culture.

  32. Sandy says:

    The whole game was kind of like taking candy from a baby. It just made them look incredibly classless with the over the top celebrations. The truth is many of those goals were not worth celebrating as they never would have been made if they were planning a team of equal skills. To take in a team with much less training and from a very poor country and act like your team just scored the biggest goal of all time is just so ridiculous. It would be like the guys in hockey jumping and hugging each other every time they scored a goal against a country like India. It was an obvious sill mismatch and they were acting like their goals were due to their skill not the fact that they were playing an underfunded team. So embarrassing.

  33. Oc says:

    People are comparing the game with children’s and teenagers’ game because if the youngest are advised to not be disrespectfull, the adults should be too, men and women, in any sports. I know that some here thought that the victory was historic. Sorry, it was not. Thailand is a weak and unprepared team that doesn’t have the same talent and had no chances against USA. Probably one of the most weak competitors in the World Cup. USA did what they were supposed to do, winning and they could have done that with respect. If they didn’t act the way they did, people would only be talking about the number of goals. You know what was historic? German winning Brazil, the biggest winner in the history of World Cups, by 7×1, in Brazil AND they kept playing, kept scoring AND were respectfull, to the point that many brazilians cheered for German after that game. The criticism against their behaviour is called for. The only part that I agree is that it will be bigger than men would receive because they are women.

  34. Hmmm says:

    I kind of get the criticism for the celebrations for the last goals. Of course they shouldnt stop scoring but it is kind of tradition in soccer to chill with the hyper celebrations definitely once you’re at like a 6-0 situation. It isnt about not letting women be proud of their work but just about being nice and respectful to the losing team. Applies to women and men.
    Also yeah 13-0 is very uncommon in professional soccer but also this game was against Thailand so…

  35. HeyThere! says:

    People are mad anytime women make history and do amazing, epic things. This sucks because as a woman myself….nothing we do is ‘right’ or ‘good enough’!!!! This would have NEVER been said about a men’s team, ever!!! Now their epic history making win is being overshadowed by the policing of their feelings. LEAVE WOMEN ALONE.

    This is so insane to me. There is a full war on women and I’m MAD. I’m a woman and I have an baby daughter. I will teach her to be a fucking warrior because that’s what’s she’s going to need to be to survive.

  36. Terotauko says:

    I’m not going to not criticise these players for classless behaviour just because they’re women. It would be classless from men too. Respect your opponent, keep scoring goals. But the celebrations were definitely over the top. There is an element of sexism in any reportage involving women, but as far as football culture goes it’s quite normal to tone down the celebrations after the 4th or 5th goal at the very least, whether it’s a men’s or women’s team. Example, Germany vs Brazil, the Germans acted with class played wonderful football and even the Brazilian spectators applauded them. And this was a hugely important Semi final match, not a group stage match. In club football, as a fan of Barca, there’s a lot of lopsided scorelines and they really tone it down, so this argument that men do it too is really not true.

  37. hogtowngooner says:

    Celebrate your goals however you want. As a soccer fan, I find that once it’s clear this is gonna be a blowout, you don’t stop scoring but you dilute your celebrations a bit. I personally find it tacky and classless to continue to rub your opponent’s nose in it.

  38. Go Placidly says:

    This might be a cultural issue. I am not from the USA and to me, there is a point at which self congratulations/joy of success takes on the appearance of mocking a competitor. If the score had been 13/12, this wouldn’t be a story and I think we all know this. So, I don’t think this is about sexism but is about basic humanity.

    • Terotauko says:

      @Go Placidly, yeah I’ve been wondering about this. Wonder how many people who think the celebrations are fine are American and how many are not? Before anyone gets mad at me, I’m not stating or suggesting that it is indeed a American/not-American divide in attitudes, but I’m merely curious if this is the case.

  39. Amelie says:

    It was over the top, full stop. And this has nothing to do with sexism IMO. I was watching the match with my dad and I commented to him at some point “They are clearly a superior team, do they need to celebrate after every single goal like they won the tournament?” I didn’t expect them to stop playing and go easy on Thailand and I didn’t expect them to stop scoring.

    But they didn’t need to twist the knife further while the Thailand team was already down acting as if they just won the lottery every single time. The Thai women were pretty much giving it their all but were just outmatched. At some point the match was even’t fun to watch, it became just a slaughter. So yeah historic win, but not a fun game to watch by any means. You can be excited you scored but it doesn’t have to be a full on dance party pileup of congratulations. Not sexist to expect people to be respectful in their actions. The American team became embarrassing and cringy to watch.

  40. Lana234 says:

    All the people who are saying the women shouldn’t celebrate their win need to go eat a fat dick. Men in sport celebrate every time they score so I don’t understand why women can’t celebrate. This thing about they should’ve trying for goals when they knew they’re going to win that doesn’t make sense. No male athlete would do that why should women. 🤬

    • Elisa says:

      in European football it is pretty common that footballers don`t celebrate their goals against their former clubs, especially in their first matches for the new clubs.

  41. Moptop says:

    I always told my children that I wanted them to learn to be gracious losers, but more importantly, I wanted them to be gracious winners. Being a gracious winner takes self-control, and a general awareness of others. These women were obviously taught by their parents that their feelings were more important than anybody else’s, and that if you win, you can act any way you want to. It’s a shame. Sportsmanship is a far greater attribute than winning a temporarily important sports event.

  42. SM says:

    This is beyond bizarre. Soccer or football as we call it in Europe is the sport of the masses here in most countries of Europe. We get emotionally invested and we celebrate. Male footballers are competitive till the last moment and the only thing that is not allowed while celebrating goals is taking one’s shirt off. Which is not what happened here so it all went down as in any male match.

  43. Fancyamazon says:

    I don’t think they were wrong for celebrating a win. But there is a point at which celebrating each (expected) goal after a winning buffer of one or two goals is just too much. It is unsightly because the goals were no longer surprises nor needed for victory, but just rubbing celebration in the loser’s face for no reason. It is humilation. The same reason I am not happy with the “fans” in Toronto celebrating the players injury, although I think the celebration of injury is a greater sin in my estimation.

  44. Clairej says:

    I say well done. Yes it gets a bit boring and you feel sorry for the losing team. But this is a competitive competition. This is the World Cup. You want as many points as you can get. Every goal goes towards a golden boot award and your final goal tally. You have to play like every second counts. They deserve some recognition that team – more popular and successful than the USA Mens team but paid next to nothing.

  45. Lucy says:

    Completely disagree – it was distasteful especially vs. a team that was making the World Cup for the first time in history… Running up the score – well there’s only so much they can hold back but celebrating like it’s a historic goal when you’re playing people who have never been to this stage is piss poor sportsmanship. It’s piss poor when the men do it, and equally so when the women do it.

  46. Tpoe says:

    I think the majority of criticism is from people who think it is not a good look when a team over does it when celebrating against an over matched opponent. I certainly would expect them to score as many goals as they can and enjoy themselves but they absolutely over did it. Made me think of the warriors (when healthy) and how they have a habit of preening and posturing and screaming and flexing after scores even when the opponent is clearly out matched. Go out and score your points but don’t be a dick about it.

    Honestly I am sure there are some sexist trolls out there but I feel like the majority of the complaints have to do with concepts of good sportsmanship and what is expected in that regard rather than “keeping women down and not allowing them to celebrate”.

    • suzysunshine says:

      ^this.
      There seems to be an absence of logic for some commentators. No one said stop playing. No one said don’t score anymore goals. Grace in victory and sportsmanlike behavior is the civil rule for any organized sport–professional, amateur, whatever. Linking arms and celebrating each and every goal like it was the game winning one was OTT and unsportsmanlike. A high 5 with a team payment would have been more appropriate and less IN YOUR FACE for such a overwhelming victory.

  47. Kath says:

    I completely disagree that this is a sexism issue. I can’t tell that most of you don’t follow football, which is fine, but if you do you can see that they were indeed disrespectful.
    It has already been said here, but when Brazil played against Germany and was beat 7-1, the Germans stopped overly celebrating after the 3rd goal. As a Brazilian I was extremely grateful for their attitude and it showed their greatness of spirit. And mind you, that was a game against equals, which is certainly not the case here.

  48. Sisi says:

    I can only compare to the male teams, but when Spain and Brazil had their deceptions this past decade, the opposing teams basically stopped celebrating around the 4-0 mark, because beyond that point it got a bit tasteless.

    I recall that when Schürrle scored his 7-1 goal against Brazil and celebrated, it actually got a bit awkward because not everyone on the german squad was enthusiastically partaking in the celebrations anymore.