The “I believe that we will chant” is something of a relic from the 2014 World Cup. Despite that, Charles Barkley came awfully close to chanting it during a recent episode of Inside the NBA while discussing the USMNT’s run in Qatar. After the Americans made it out of their group with a 1-0 win over Iran, Barkley invited all challengers to take on Gregg Berhalter’s squad.
This included a signature Barkley guarantee that the USMNT would be able to beat the Netherlands in their first knockout stage game. That didn’t happen — the Americans fell to the European giants, 3-1, thanks to a goal and two assists by Denzel Dumfries. It was a heartbreaking loss, but to the victor goes the spoils, and by “spoils,” I mean “opportunity to get a joke off at the expense of Charles Barkley.”
The NBA on TNT Twitter account made fun of Barkley for getting a guarantee wrong, which included tweeting out a picture with the scoreline over top of a picture of Chuck looking crestfallen. Dutch star Memphis Depay, who scored the team’s first goal on the day, saved that picture of Barkley and put it on Twitter with a simple message: “Lotta bark, no bite.”
Lotta bark, no bite. pic.twitter.com/a43wWacY9v
— Memphis Depay (@Memphis) December 3, 2022
Credit where it’s due, this is incredibly funny from Memphis. As for Barkley, he’ll have to sit back and wait until the 2026 World Cup to watch the men’s side play in the tournament again, where they are guaranteed to participate as the host nation. There is, of course, the chance to watch the USWNT at the World Cup next summer, and because they are the two-time defending champions, I assume Barkley is going to throw out a few guarantees for that one. Here’s hoping they work out a little better.