Former PSV player impressed by Curacao’s crowd: “So special to experience”
1 min readThursday evening the curtain fell for Curaçao at the 2026 World Cup after a 0-2 defeat against Ivory Coast. Due to this loss, the team of national coach Dick Advocaat has been eliminated with one point from three matches and a goal difference of -8.
Despite this, The Blue Wave still caused a lot of commotion among the island’s residents. Former PSV defender Jetro Willems also noticed that.
The current NEC'er, who himself played 22 internationals for the Netherlands and was active at the European Championship 2012, talks about this in a conversation with Voetbal International. ''The whole island has become football-crazy. You could already see it happening around last year’s World Cup qualifying, but now even more. In December I was also on the island: houses that were still yellow then are now blue. The colors are waving everywhere. The past few weeks I’ve also been driving around with little flags on my car. I had to buy them; it was mandatory. Even people who had never had anything to do with football or didn’t know anything about it seem to be busy with nothing else now. So special to experience that,'' begins the left-back.
Also, according to Willems, more has changed within football on Curaçao. "The past ten years have been tough for a large part of the population. That's why it's so great that football is now bringing new positivity. And for more attention for the island. The whole world now knows Curaçao. That means more tourists, more hotels, more jobs," continues the defender.
Willems attended the match Germany - Curacao (7-1) and was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere. ''I had to and I would have to see one match live in America. To experience the atmosphere there. And I can tell you: I was shocked. Positively shocked. As many people as there were: 8,400 Antillean supporters were there against Germany, I understand. That’s really a lot, if you know where we come from,'' said the former PSV player
Comments7
I think the lineup choice is spot on, especially for controlling second balls. If PSV match the intensity for 60 minutes, then we can actually let the tempo drop without getting punished. 100% though, we have to be sharper in the box. 👏
"Pressing high" sounds great, but only if the back line stays brave. When we get bypassed once, it turns into a sprint back and suddenly the game is scary. 💀
ngl the wing-play looked promising, but the final ball is still a bit mid. I want better timing on the overlap, because the wingers are beating their man and then nobody attacks the second post. 🤡
Defensively i feel we are one step away from chaos. The article mentions switching play, but we need it earlier, not after the block is set. Otherwise it turns into low-quality crosses and Ajax fans will have a field day lol.
If PSV really wants to keep the build-up stable, they need more calm decision-making from the midfield. Right now it feels like we win the ball, then rush the pass and lose the rhythm. 🔥
ngl the quote about "control" sounds nice but i dont see how we get it without faster circulation. If the striker drops too deep again, the wide guy has nothing to run onto. Thoughts?
If PSV keep playing out from the back like last match, i worry we will get punished on the press. Especially if the midfield is too narrow, it leaves the fullback isolated. Make the angles earlier and we win the second balls, easy.