Norway was one of the surprises of the group stage of the Women’s World Cup, with two wins and a 1-1 tie with the tournament favorite, Germany. But doubters of the team — and women’s soccer in general — remain, so the players have taken them on with an unexpected weapon: sarcasm.
In a video posted online Monday, and created with Norway’s national broadcaster NRK, several Norwegian players address the most persistent prejudices about the women’s game by admitting — with deadpan humor, and sometimes profanity — that they are all true.
One after another, accompanied by somber background music, the players use mock confessionals to come clean about many of the boorish complaints women’s players have heard for years, including their perceived lack of skill compared with the men’s game as well as prejudices about their sexuality.