The 2026 FIFA World Cup enjoyed a historic day on the global scene as the Dutch Royals cheered on Curacao to its first-ever point after a 0-0 draw with Ecuador on Saturday.
Both King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima began their day in Houston watching The Netherlands dismantle Sweden with an overwhelming 5-1 performance before heading to Kansas City for the other FIFA World Cup game in their country’s territory that afternoon to support Curacao, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Following an initial defeat of 7-1 to Germany, Curacao gave a surprising and spirited response to the South American squad.
They managed to hold Ecuador to a draw thanks to a 15-save performance from Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room, who was phenomenal between the sticks throughout the match. The Dutch monarchs took in all the action and celebrated the point with the team after the historic result.
The country achieved their best-ever results at an Olympic or World Cup event thanks to their draws with other nations at previous Olympics too. “It is an extra-special World Cup because we have both the Netherlands and Curacao,” King Willem-Alexander told Dutch media.
“We have twice as many teams to cheer for.”
Fellow midfielder Tahith Chong felt the Royal family added to the special occasion, adding, “it made it extra exciting that they came.” Veteran coachDick Advocaat echoed their sentiments and noted the King and Queen visited the dressing room after the contest, “in a very humble and fan-like manner”.
