(CNN) President Barack Obama got caught in the spirit of soccer fandom while honoring the U.S. Women's National Team at the White House on Tuesday.

Obama said the team, which beat Japan 5-2 in the World Cup Final in July, taught America's children that "playing like a girl means you're a badass."

After the crowd in the East Room clapped and cheered, Obama joked he probably shouldn't have said that.

He clarified, "Playing like a girl means being the best! It means drawing the largest TV audience for a soccer match -- men or women's -- in American history. It means wearing our nation's crest on your jersey, taking yourself and your country to the top of the world. That's what American women do, that's what American girls do -- that's why celebrate this team."

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