The Dutch royal family pulled off something most football fans can only dream about on June 20, 2026: watching two of your teams win (well, win and not lose) at the World Cup on the same day. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima were in Houston to see the Netherlands demolish Sweden 5-1, then made the roughly 800-mile trek to Kansas City to watch Curacao earn its first-ever World Cup point in a gritty 0-0 draw against Ecuador.
A tale of two matches
The Netherlands made quick work of Sweden in Houston. Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo each bagged two goals apiece, turning what could have been a competitive group stage match into something closer to a training exercise.
Curacao, the small Caribbean island that is an autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, was making its World Cup debut in 2026. Earning a point against Ecuador was the stuff of legend.
Goalkeeper Eloy Room made 15 saves to keep Ecuador at bay, a performance that belongs in the pantheon of great World Cup goalkeeping displays. Fifteen saves in a single match is not a stat you see often at any level of professional football, let alone on the sport’s biggest stage.
