Rabat- The Embassy of the Netherlands in Morocco called upon Moroccans to root for the Dutch team in its upcoming game against Mexico in the second round of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
A placard displayed at the entrance of the Dutch embassy reads in French and Arabic: “Supporter l’equipe de football des Pays Bas” (support the Netherlands’ soccer team).
The Netherlands has a large Moroccan diaspora. More than 400,000 Moroccans live in the Netherlands, a country that has provided a number of talented players to the Moroccan national team, such as Oussama Saidi, Mounir El Hamdoaui, Nordin Amrabet, Mbarek Boussoufa, Ali Boussabone, and others.
A number of Dutch-Moroccans chose to play for the Netherlands. Khalid Boulharouz, who played in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups with the Dutch, and Ibrahim Afellay, who participated in the 2010 World Cup, are among the most famous players of Moroccan origin who wore the Dutch jersey.
After their stunning opening game against Spain where they won with a historic score of 5-1, observers consider the Netherlands one of the favorites to win the World Cup. The Netherlands has played three World Cup finals in its history and lost all of them. They lost their first final against Germany in 1974, their second final against Argentina in 1978, and their third final against Spain in 2010.
Edited by Timothy Filla