NEW DELHI: For purists it's always 'football' while for the Americans it's 'soccer' as they call it. And who would have thought that it would lead to a banter on the social media platform between the US President Joe Biden and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The Twitter banter started with Biden wishing the US team luck ahead of their last-16 FIFA World Cup clash against the Netherlands on Saturday at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.
"It's called soccer," Biden said in a video posted on Twitter.
But the Dutch side ended the United States' World Cup dream, storming into the quarter with a crushing 3-1 victory. And pat came the reply to Biden's tweet by Rutte.
"Sorry Joe, football won," he wrote, adding a wink emoji.
Biden responded to Rutte on Sunday morning.
"Strictly speaking, shouldn't it be 'voetbal'?" he replied, using the Dutch word for football.
"Kidding aside: congrats to your team and country, Mark. Rematch in New Zealand," the US president added.
The 2019 World Cup-winning US women's team could come up against the Netherlands at the tournament in New Zealand next year.
(With inputs from AFP)
