Two countries, four points, a crazy World Cup day.
There may be around 5,000 miles between the Netherlands and their former colony of Curaçao, but the World Cup meant members of the Dutch royal family could watch both sides play on Saturday.
King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Princess Aryan of the Netherlands were in Houston for the midday kick-off and saw the Dutch side secure an impressive 5-1 win over Sweden.
After traveling just 800 miles north to Kansas City, the Royals were able to see Curacao earn its first-ever World Cup point against Ecuador.
All but one of the Curaçao squad were born in the Netherlands and the royal party ended the day by celebrating with the players in the dressing room.
“This is a very special World Cup because we have both the Netherlands and Curaçao,” Willem-Alexander told RTL-TV.
“So there are twice as many teams to cheer for. It’s a great opportunity to support both the Blues and Oranges.
“All in all, this will be a special World Cup with both teams. Of course, I hope they go very far.”
Queen Máxima is from Argentina and could play against Austria on Monday when she visits Arlington, Texas.
Curaçao, with a population of 158,000, is smaller than the Isle of Man and is still part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
In the 17th century, the Dutch conquered large swaths of territory in the areas that now make up Indonesia, South Africa, Curaçao, and West Papua.
Thousands of people were trafficked from Africa to Dutch colonies in the Caribbean and South America. This represents about 5% of the entire Atlantic slave trade, and the practice was banned in 1863.
King Willem-Alexander formally apologized in 2023 for his country’s role in the slave trade, saying it had affected him “personally and intensely.”
