Orange Crush: Dutch soccer fans cling to hope that World Cup drought will end

Fans have been sporting the country’s bright orange shirts at festival viewing areas in the Ontario capital, which is hosting six tournament games in all.

The eighth-ranked Dutch side is off to a strong start with two wins and a draw, good for the top seeding in Group F.

The team reached the quarterfinals in 2022 at Qatar, which came 12 years after its last final appearance. The Netherlands dropped a 1-0 decision to Spain in that 2010 championship on Andreas Iniesta’s stoppage-time winner.

The Netherlands first reached the final in 1974, a 2-1 loss to host West Germany. Four years later, it was a 3-1 loss to Argentina.

As crushing as those close defeats were, supporters keep putting on the orange uniforms with the hope that perhaps one day the big hurdle will finally be cleared.

Ottawa-based clinical psychologist Adam Kingsbury said the shared experience of sport — win or lose — is what keeps fans’ loyalty strong.

“We remember the joy, we remember the euphoria, and also with grief and pain and loss, we deeply remember those things too,” he said. “So where intense emotion is present, is very often a signal that this matters.

“This is where meaning lies.”

Fans of some professional sports teams know those feelings well. There can be positives like passion and community meshed into the experience, as painful as the results can be at times.

Ask supporters of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, losers of four straight Super Bowls in the 1990s. The Cleveland Guardians haven’t won the World Series since 1948.

And hockey fans in Toronto need no reminder that it has been almost six decades since the last Stanley Cup parade in the city.

“It’s just like rooting for the Maple Leafs,” said Dutch supporter Sam Fenby, a Toronto resident. “It’s going to happen one day, and I want to be there when it does.”

Kingsbury, who has worked with several high-level Canadian curlers, said part of the draw for supporters is taking in the range of feelings associated with sport.

“Regardless if it’s pleasant or unpleasant, emotions are markers for memories,” he said.

The Netherlands will face Group C runner-up Morocco on Monday. The winner will take on Canada or South Africa in the Round of 16.

The Dutch side needs five more victories to finally hoist the gold trophy in the air.

“I think sports is one of those great unifying factors,” Fenby said. “It’s like good music (or) good food. Sports is one of those things that’s just like positivity everywhere.”

Memorable moments throughout the sporting journey can be a big component of the experience, Kingsbury noted, adding the drama in a tight game can be when “we feel most alive as people.”

“It’s not entirely deterministic,” he said. “It’s that error term. It’s those low-probability moments.

“(It’s) the ‘Dumb and Dumber’ movie line: ‘So you’re saying there’s a chance?'”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2026.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Orange Crush: Dutch soccer fans cling to hope that World Cup drought will end

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