Of all North Hollanders who completed the survey, only a third said they were looking forward to the World Cup. Another third say they simply don’t like football, and the remaining 33 percent have various reasons for not having much interest in the World Cup. Especially the late time at which many matches are played and low expectations for the Dutch national team are reasons for them to drop out.
Because few panel members have confidence that the Netherlands will become world champion. More than half think that the Dutch team will fail in the group stage or exit the tournament early in the knockout phase. Only 6 percent think (or hope) that we will take home the World Cup. Half of the panel expects France or Spain to come out on top.
Do have confidence in the national coach
Remarkably, according to the panel, this will not be the fault of national coach Ronald Koeman. Almost two-thirds of respondents have confidence in the abilities of Koeman, who is going to his second final tournament as national coach, after reaching the semi-finals of the European Championship in Germany in 2024.
The fact that World Cup fever is not yet present in the province is also visible in the relatively small number of orange-decorated streets. Less than 10 percent of the panel members say their street has been brightened up for the World Cup. About 7 percent of North Hollanders usually have their streets decorated, but the tournament is so infrequent that the flags have remained in the closet this year.
Will debutant Curaçao score high?
By the way, North Holland is not only cheering for the Netherlands. Many Antillean Dutch people hope that Curaçao will make the island proud during what will be their first World Cup. With 158,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest country that has ever participated in the tournament. The chance that Curaçao will reach the knockout phase of the tournament is estimated as low: 55 percent of the panel expects that they will be allowed to return home after three group matches.
Fortunately, there is still room for the necessary optimism in the province. According to eleven respondents, Curaçao will become world champion.