Thousands of Dutch supporters march through Munich to Oranje vs Romania Euro 2024 match
Thousands of Dutch football fans marched through Munich on Tuesday to the Oranje vs. Romania match in the round of 16 of the European Football Championship 2024. The KNVB expected around 15,000 Oranje fans in Munich. At least 7,000 of them have tickets for the match, which starts in the Allianz Arena at 6:00 p.m.
The Dutch supporters marched from the Olympia-Eissportzentrum to the fan zone at Olympiapark. In previous matches in this tournament, they marched from the center of the host city to the stadium, but that distance was too great in Munich.
While the number of supporters is much lower than the around 40,000 Dutch fans who went to watch the group matches, the Oranje fever is palpable in Munich today, RTL Nieuws reporters said from the scene. The Dutch police deployed officers to help their German colleagues manage the crowds.
The fans have high hopes for Oranje tonight, especially after the Netherlands’ 3-2 loss against Austria, Jelle and Sjoukje from Emmen told the broadcaster. “I think that against Austria, they already had in the back of their minds that they were already through,” Sjouke said. “That plays a role, even though you may not want it to.” Oranje has to win against Romania, they said. “This may be the weakest opponent yet.”
Brothers Tom from Arnhem and Bas from Ridderkerk are also hopeful. “You can’t play that badly twice in a row,” Bas said, referring to the match against Austria. His brother hopes that the Dutch players will show a bit more fighting spirit tonight. “If they show that they gave everything they could and were then outclassed, I’ll be at peace with it. But if you look at the kind of players we have, that should not be the case. It is a great team.”
Tonight will be the first time in 20 years that Oranje has a chance to win a match in the knockout phase of a European Championship. The last time it happened was in 2004, in the quarter-final against Sweden, according to AD. The Dutch team won after a goalless match on penalties, and then lost to Portugal in the semi-finals.
