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King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima, Princess Ariane, and Minister Mirjam Sterk for Long-term Care, Youth, and Sport were in attendance at the Curaçao - Ecuador match in the early hours of Sunday morning. Curaçao's second group stage game kicked off at 2:00 AM Dutch time.
Departure
The royal entourage traveled directly from Houston to Kansas City after the Netherlands - Sweden match. According to national coach Ronald Koeman, the royal couple visibly enjoyed Oranje's dominant 5-1 victory.
Following Oranje's impressive win over Sweden, Willem-Alexander, Máxima, and Ariane also visited the locker room. "They were, of course, incredibly happy. If I, on behalf of the eighteen million other national coaches, could be in that locker room for a moment and thank them on behalf of the Netherlands, it was a very special moment. It was a great celebration. On one hand, there was immense joy, but on the other, there's still a big task ahead," the King told NOS.
Gianni Infantino
During that match, Willem-Alexander and Máxima were seated in Houston Stadium, sporting orange scarves, next to FIFA President Gianni Infantino. This led to multiple instances of the King and Infantino engaging in conversation. "He is, of course, the host, but I might have offered a few suggestions for the peace prize in the coming years," Willem-Alexander remarked with a wink.
Curaçao began their World Cup campaign with a painful 7-1 defeat against Germany. The Blue Wave, as coach Dick Advocaat's team is known, hopes to pull off an upset against Ecuador.
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