President Obama and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel took a couple moments out of their busy schedules Wednesday to call the USMNT goalie Tim Howard and the team’s captain Clint Dempsey.
The president congratulated them on their World Cup showing and even joked with Howard about his newfound fame.
The U.S. was eliminated from the World Cup Tuesday following a loss to Belgium.
The best Tim Howard memes from Team USA’s final World Cup match
“I just wanted to call and say you guys did us proud,” Obama told the pair.
#USMNT @Clint_Dempsey and @TimHowardGK got a call from President Obama earlier today in São Paulo. pic.twitter.com/Vm21OhxHqX
— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) July 3, 2014
He even suggested to Howard that he shave his beard to avoid being mobbed once he arrives home.
“Tim, I think — I don’t know how you’re going to survive the mobs when you come back home, man,” said the president. “You’re gonna have to shave your beard so they don’t know who you are.”
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel made a call to Howard as well.
From 1 SecDef to another: Hagel calls @timhowardgk to say thanks for defending USA. We (USA) are proud of @ussoccer! pic.twitter.com/M8nsYdlXFn
— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) July 2, 2014
Following Howard’s phenomenal performance Tuesday, racking up 16 saves — a new World Cup record, the Internet almost broke.
Someone even hacked Wikipedia, replacing Hagel with Howard on the Secretary of Defense page.
Check out the White House video above.
Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals.