After the match against Austria, the Netherlands want to keep up the rhythm. The team will play a friendly match against TSV Havelse on Wednesday. As the KNVB announced on Tuesday, the test against the regional league team will take place at 12:00 p.m.
Fans are not allowed to attend, and some of them are currently in Germany, as was made clear once again in Berlin on Tuesday. The orange supporters of the Dutch team could be found everywhere in the capital.
According to the police, around 15,000 Oranje fans joined in a cheerful fan march from Hammarskjöldplatz in front of the Berlin exhibition halls to the Olympic Stadium. Numerous onlookers followed the events and filmed the exuberant chants in the Westend district on the way to the stadium with their mobile phones. The famous “Oranjebus”, a double-decker bus painted in the colors of the Dutch national team, was also there.
Dutch ambassador Ronald van Roeden watched the spectacle at the start at Hammarskjöld Square. “It’s just nice to see for yourself what’s happening here,” said embassy spokesman Herman van Gelderen. “So far, the atmosphere at the games has been good. So far, it’s been a big Oranje party.”
Tens of thousands of Dutch people made headlines before the games in Hamburg and Leipzig with their dance to the party hit “Links Rechts” by the group “Snollebollekes”. Videos of fans jumping across the street went viral on social media. However, the singer did not perform in Berlin.
Around 25,000 Oranjes celebrated at the European Championship match in Leipzig. According to the Dutch football association KNVB, around 40,000 fans wanted to come to Berlin. According to embassy spokesman van Gelderen, around 20,000 of them are expected in the fan zones at the Brandenburg Gate and in front of the Reichstag building. However, around two and a half hours before kick-off, not many were to be seen there.
However, it was observed that a number of Oranjes fans left the march to the stadium after a while and headed towards the city center. The police repeatedly asked the guests via loudspeaker announcements in German and Dutch to go to public viewing facilities if they did not have a ticket.
According to the police, the mood was initially peaceful. Apart from a few “typical football side effects”, there were no incidents, said a police spokesman. Images of joint celebrations by Austrian and Dutch fans on social media also testified to a lively atmosphere.
