Women's World Cup: Equal pay tweets skyrocket after USA win

July 8 (UPI) -- Tweets related to pay skyrocketed following the U.S. Women's National Team's win against the Netherlands in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup final.

Twitter reported a five-time increase in tweets mentioning "pay" after the match Sunday in Lyon, France, compared to the time period before the match. The crowd at the stadium could also be heard chanting "equal pay" as the U.S. women's team celebrated its second consecutive World Cup title.

In March, all 28 members of the team filed suit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, claiming they receive unequal pay compared to the men's team. The federation has denied discrimination. The parties tentatively agreed last month to mediate the suit. If the case isn't settled, the players hope to have a trial in 2020.

The U.S. women's team has garnered more revenue from its games than the U.S. men's games since the 2015 Women's World Cup. Women's games generated $50.8 million from 2016 through 2018, while men earned about $49.9 million, according to audited financial statements provided by the federation.

Twitter reported the USA sent more tweets than any other country during the Women's World Cup, followed by Brazil, England, France and Spain. U.S. star Megan Rapinoe was the most-mentioned player at the tournament, followed by teammate Alex Morgan.

Brazil's Marta and Cristiane were the third and fourth most mentioned players. USA defender Ali Kreiger was the fifth-most mentioned player on Twitter during the tournament.

U.S. President Donald Trump was one of the millions of Twitter members who weighed in on the USA's victory.

"Congratulations to the U.S. women's soccer team on winning the World Cup! Great and exciting play. America is proud of you all," Trump tweeted Sunday.

Trump also commented on the achievement and the equal pay debate when speaking with reporters Sunday in New Jersey.

"I would like to see that, but you have to look at the great stars of men's soccer and great stars of women's soccer and have to see year-round how have they all drawn," Trump said. "What is the attendance for women's soccer outside of the World Cup, but I would like to see it."

The parties will meet with a judge at the end of July. If the case isn't settled, the players hope to have a trial in 2020.