The quarter-final against Argentina on Friday will go down in the books as the best-attended match of the Dutch team ever at a World Cup football. FIFA reports on Saturday that 88,235 spectators attended the Lusail Stadium, which has a capacity of 88,966.
The previous record was set during the 2010 World Cup final between the Netherlands and Spain at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. 84,490 football fans came to see it.
The new record is mainly due to the Argentines, who traveled en masse to Qatar and sat in the stands with tens of thousands during the quarterfinals. It is estimated that about fourteen hundred fans from the Netherlands were in the stadium.
The 1974 World Cup final in Munich against West Germany (77,000) and the 1978 World Cup final in Buenos Aires against Argentina (also 77,000) had fewer spectators. The best-attended European Championship match ever for Orange is the group match with England in 1996 at Wembley: 76,798 spectators.
Best bezochte interlands Oranje
- 1. Spanje-Nederland (Madrid, 1957) – 105.000 toeschouwers
- 2. Polen-Nederland (Chorzów, 1969) – 100.000 toeschouwers
- 2. Polen-Nederland (Chorzów, 1979) – 100.000 toeschouwers
- 4. Engeland-Nederland (Londen, 1977) – 90.000 toeschouwers
- 5. Oost-Duitsland-Nederland (Leipzig, 1979) – 90.000 toeschouwers
- 6. Nederland-Argentinië (Lusail, 2022) – 88.235 toeschouwers
- 7. Nederland-Spanje (Johannesburg, 2010) – 84.490 toeschouwers
- 8. Nederland-Denemarken (Johannesburg, 2010) – 83.465 toeschouwers
Quarter-final also yields card record
It is striking that the Dutch spectator record was set in a friendly match. In 1957 no fewer than 105,000 spectators were present at Spain-Netherlands in Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid.
In addition to a spectator record, there was also a card record at the Netherlands-Argentina on Friday. Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz drew eighteen yellow cards, including twice for Denzel Dumfries.
The previous World Cup record was sixteen yellow cards. That was also established during an Orange match. In the round of 16 against Portugal in 2006, the Russian referee Valentin Ivanov drew sixteen times, including twice for the Dutch Khalid Boulahrouz and Giovanni van Bronckhorst and the Portuguese Deco and Costinha.
De kaarten tijdens Nederland-Argentinië
- Geel spelers Argentinië: Marcos Acuna (minuut 43), Cristian Romero (45), Lisandro Martínez (76), Leandro Paredes (89), Lionel Scaloni (90), Lionel Messi (90+10), Nicolas Otamendi (90+12), Gonzalo Montiel (110) en German Pezzella (112)
- Geel staf Argentinië: Walter Samuel (minuut 31) en Lionel Scaloni (90)
- Geel spelers Nederland: Jurriën Timber (minuut 43), Wout Weghorst (45+2), Memphis Depay (76), Steven Berghuis (88), Steven Bergwijn (91) en Noa Lang (na afloop)
- Rood speler Oranje: Denzel Dumfries (twee keer geel na afloop)
