King of the Netherlands Lit Up the World Cup: Cheered Against Sweden, Then Danced in the Curaçao Locker Room
The royal family visited two matches in seven hours: Netherlands — Sweden and Curaçao — Ecuador.
Photo: Stefan Koops/EYE4IMAGES/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Dutch royal family arrived at the World Cup, where they had an enjoyable Saturday: the national teams of both countries that are part of the kingdom delighted them.
Photo: Koen Van Weel / ANP (Photo by ANP via Getty Images
The Dutch crushed Sweden 5:1 in Houston. King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima, and 19-year-old Princess Ariane passionately cheered from the stands.
Then the King went to the changing room, where defender Virgil van Dijk didn't miss the opportunity to take a selfie.
Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen also took a photo with Willem-Alexander: "It was nice. The King said I played well and that he enjoyed the match."
And then the royal family flew to Kansas City, where Curaçao achieved a historic draw with Ecuador (0:0). They were present at both games — and it was fun.
They even put aside their orange colors and changed into blue, as the island team's nickname is "Blue Wave." And Curaçao's flag is blue — a reference to the sky and the Caribbean Sea, writes sports.ru.
Photo: Alex Pantling — FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
After the match, the monarch went into the locker room to congratulate Dick Advocaat and the entire national team on earning their first point at the World Cups.
Photo: Alex Pantling — FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
The atmosphere was very relaxed — no formality, the high-ranking guests simply danced with the players.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands joined Curaçao's players in celebrating a historic moment on Saturday after the Caribbean nation earned its first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup point with a goalless draw against Ecuador.
The Dutch royal couple began their… pic.twitter.com/Mwr0Or60ux
At the match, Willem-Alexander sat next to Gianni Infantino, and after the game, he delivered a small stand-up routine: "I am a FIFA guest here, so if Infantino is at the match, I sit next to him. But perhaps I managed to suggest a few candidates for the Peace Prize for the coming years.
Speaking of the game, several times I even looked for the defibrillator, because I might have needed it. Sometimes it wasn't very good for my heart. I am grateful that I could get into this locker room on behalf of the other 18 million national team coaches."
In the third round, Curaçao will play against Côte d'Ivoire in Philadelphia, and the Netherlands will play Tunisia in Kansas City.
Curaçao is a small island in the Caribbean Sea with a population of 155,000 people. It is a self-governing territorial entity within the Netherlands. The island has broad autonomy: its own government, parliament, constitution, and laws, but foreign policy and defense are the responsibility of the Netherlands. However, it is a member of FIFA, like Gibraltar or the Faroe Islands.
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Comments
Такога кіраўніка любіць і народ.
Гора народу калі ў краіне гаўляйтар ці рэжым які ненавідзіць народ, яго мову, культуру, сымбалы, гісторыю, зневажна ставіцца да людзей.
Не ўяўляю ніякай шчырай любові ці радасці да гаўляйтара нават ў спорце.
Адчуваю радасць ў Нідэрландцаў за іх караля і іх краіну.