One Netherlands soccer star was more than happy to be the latest steward of the Charles Barkley curse.
The TNT analyst Barkley got involved with a prediction for the Netherlands-United States World Cup match on Saturday.
He forecast a victory for the U.S., saying that the Netherlands were “in trouble” and even stamping it with one of his infamous “guarantees.”
Unfortunately for Barkley, his prediction was an airball. The Netherlands cruised to a fairly easy 3-1 win to clinch a spot in the World Cup quarterfinal against Argentina.
Meanwhile, the United States was eliminated from World Cup contention with the loss.
After the victory, Dutch forward Memphis Depay, who also plays for Spanish club F.C. Barcelona, clowned Barkley in a tweet. Depay posted a picture of Barkley (and the final score) with the caption, “Lotta bark, no bite.”
Depay played a crucial role in the victory over the United States. He opened up the scoring in the tenth minute with a powerful strike into the bottom left corner off a cross from teammate Denzel Dumfries.
It was the very first non-penalty goal that the U.S. had conceded in this year’s World Cup and set the tone for the rest of the match.
As for Barkley, USMNT fans will probably be cursing his name. After all, Barkley has jinxed several other teams before with his ill-fated guarantees.
More must-reads: