Published on 6/21/2026
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Last update: 15:33 (Mecca time)
The official account of the Curacao national team on the “X” platform published scenes of the players’ celebrations in the locker room after the draw with Ecuador, and scoring the first point in its historic first participation in the World Cup, in the presence of the Dutch royal family.
A goalless draw decided Curacao’s confrontation with Ecuador at dawn today at Kansas City Stadium, for the second round of the World Cup’s fifth group matches.
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The King of the Netherlands celebrates with Curacao players
King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and his wife, Queen Máxima, appeared dancing with the players to celebrate this historic result, which raised questions about the reason for the Dutch royal family celebrating with the Curacao national team after the match.
What made the matter even more strange was that, a few hours earlier, the royal family had attended the Netherlands-Sweden match, which was held 1,200 kilometers away from the stadium of the Curacao-Ecuador match.
The Dutch royal family boarded a private plane to travel from Houston to Kansas City, and after arriving, they headed directly to the Curacao national team’s dressing room to share the joy of the players and technical staff in winning the first World Cup point.
The reason for the Dutch King’s celebration with the Curaçao players is due to the constitutional relationship that links the island with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as Curaçao has been considered a “constituent state” within the Kingdom since 2010, and enjoys autonomy in its internal affairs, while the King of the Netherlands remains head of state.
Curacao, with a population of only 157,000 people, has become the smallest country in terms of population to reach the World Cup finals.
Curacao opportunity
The Curacao national team occupies the fourth and last place in Group E with one point, behind on goal difference from third-placed Ecuador, while the German national team guaranteed its qualification to the round of 32 from the top after defeating Côte d’Ivoire 2-1.
The Curacao national team still has a historic opportunity to qualify for the next round, but it must only achieve a victory against Côte d’Ivoire, while waiting for Ecuador to stumble against Germany in the final round, next Thursday.
If Curacao wins over Côte d’Ivoire and Ecuador wins over Germany, the goal difference will give Ecuador the advantage in the direct qualification race, which may push the island team to rely on its ranking among the best third-placed teams.
