KANSAS CITY — Around these parts, we have a saying: “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it’ll change.”
Just ask our newest football friends, the tens of thousands of Dutch fans that rolled through town and saw the Netherlands beat Tunisia 3-1 on Thursday to finish top of Group F at the 2026 World Cup.
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They started the day (under blue skies) by putting on one of the most spectacular performances my hometown has ever seen — and Patrick Mahomes has been our QB1 for the better part of a decade now, so that’s really saying something. What was originally expected to be 4,000, reportedly turned out to be more than 35,000 people, nearly all wearing bright orange, marching and hopping and singing as far as the eye could see. They made their way nearly a mile down the road from one pre-game party to another and then on to the stadium for the actual game. Oranje Fanwalks in Dallas and Houston saw 6,000 and 20,000 fans take part, respectively.
The route — down Grand Boulevard from the Power & Light District to the foot of Union Station and Liberty Memorial, where FIFA Fan Fest is being held all World Cup long — is quite accustomed to a party, after the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals combined to win four championships in 10 years. Locals and visitors alike had the times of their lives, whether it was their first or 50th Fanwalk. Even the city’s fleet of snowplows that led the march and cleared the road ahead were orange.
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“The city is bleeding orange for us,” Marianne van Leeuwen, vice president of the Dutch football federation, said. “Kansas City is great, the people are so hospitable and our players are really happy with the support.”
“We have our own sports traditions here in KC,” explained Shannon, a downtown resident (not wearing orange, to her dismay) who wandered into the mix out of sheer curiosity. “But for me, seeing up close the way people from Argentina and Algeria and the Netherlands, all over the world, the way they come here and support their team, has been the best part of the World Cup. Everyone has their own culture and style. Everyone is here to have a good time, the energy is incredible.”
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Clear skies in the morning were replaced by dark storm clouds shortly after midday and the game looked like it might be delayed as heavy rain hammered Kansas City Stadium an hour before kickoff, but it didn’t damped the party atmosphere down in the stadium concourse.
“It’s my first World Cup game ever, if I have to wait a few hours more then that’s OK,” Klaas, who lives in Rotterdam, said while sheltering from the storm. “The people are so welcoming, there is beer, I can stay here all night.”
Now officially two weeks into this tournament, it’s safe to say that the fans are the real stars of the World Cup.
Netherlands win the group, but are they contenders to win the World Cup?
“We have players in the biggest clubs in the world, but that means expectations go up,” Klaas said. “We can score, score, score. But I don’t know, can we defend?”
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It’s a fair question after the Netherlands finished the group stage without keeping a clean sheet against any one of Japan, Sweden or Tunisia.
After racing out to a 2-0 lead after seven minutes on Thursday, the Dutch looked out of sorts and disorganized against counter-attacks long before Tunisia pulled a goal back in the 54th minute and made things far more interesting than they should have been. Fortunately for Ronald Koeman’s side, Tunisia were short on quality in and around the box and most of their forays fizzled out with the final ball. Against the top teams in this tournament — think France, Spain, Germany and possibly Portugal, all of whom look like landing on the Netherlands’ half of the bracket — that kind of nonchalance will be punished.
“I’m not sure if we are the favorite in the match against Morocco,” Koeman said after the game. “We need to prepare for Morocco, because it’ll be a big game. It’s a good team with a lot of quality, and they can score easily.”
On the plus side, Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey has been a handful and a half, scoring three goals after starting the last two group games and should be the one to lead the line going forward. Brobbey’s hold-up play was a constant problem for Tunisia and seemed to unlock Tijjani Reijnders in particular, as the Manchester City midfielder surged forward over and over in 72 minutes of action (3 chances created, 3 shots, 1 assist on the night).
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