The famous Orange wave of Dutch fans was hit with a torrential downpour last night.
An ‘Oranje’ walk by tens of thousands of supporters had to be called off before the game against Tunisia. The wide open terracing of the 67,513-capacity Kansas City stadium was packed with the ‘Oranje’ army who endured pouring rain in raincoats, hats and orange caps.
They were rewarded with two goals within six minutes: the first an own goal from Ellyes Skhiri after two minutes 36 seconds.
A second came four minutes later from Sunderland’s swashbuckling centre forward Brian Brobbey in an emphatic 3-1 win. Some ingenious fans avoided FIFA’s ‘no umbrella’ rule by wearing orange umbrella-shaped hats.
Many sang and danced throughout the game and half time – just to keep warm in the inclement weather. An entire section wore the famous Orange shirts with No. 12 on the back, a reference to the crowd being the ’12th man’. Others in the upper tiers started leaving for the exits during the second half, or moved to the concourse for cover.
The Dutch were in the World Cup finals in 1974 and ’78. They again reached the final in 2010. But the Jules Rimet trophy has eluded them. In 2010, they lost 1-0 to Spain. The Dutch have never lost a World Cup match in regular time by more than one goal, and have not lost a match since the 2010 final.
Their 2014 and 2022 campaigns both ended in defeat by penalty shootout, both times against Argentina. At the top of the drive leading to their Kansas City training complex, the sign reads: “2026: This is Our Year.”
Fans were hit by bad weather during the Netherlands vs Tunisia game(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)