The World Cup love affair between Lawrence, Kansas, and Team Algeria continues to be a source of international delight. But since Saturday's game will determine if "Les Fennecs" can progress to the knockout round, Lawrence is sending the team off in style.

An airport spokesperson said the expected number of travelers rivals major holiday travel days like Thanksgiving weekend. Netherlands and Tunisia played on Thursday, while Algeria and Austria will have their final group-stage match Saturday. Hotel bookings have also trended upward since the tournament started.

The ordeal has left fans forced to either miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity or scramble to find new tickets, often costing more and for worse seats.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms swept through Kansas City on Thursday, forcing the Fan Festival to close early. But the World Cup match kicked off as scheduled, with the Dutch national team beating Tunisia 3-1.

The Netherlands-Tunisia World Cup match will kick off at 6 p.m. Thursday at Arrowhead Stadium.

A sea of soccer fans decked out in orange is set to descend on downtown Kansas City, engaging in a 22-year-old Dutch tradition: the Oranje Fanwalk. Fans of the Netherlands World Cup team show their pride by parading alongside their beloved double-decker orange bus on match days.

Curaçao, the smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup, got to celebrate its very first tournament point this weekend after a 0-0 draw at Arrowhead Stadium. Although most of the 68,598-person crowd was cheering for Ecuador, isn't rooting for underdogs the Kansas City way?

This year's edition of the FIFA World Cup continues to be thrilling with unexpected performances from tournament first-timers and surprising results from some of the favorites. Among them was Curaçao, the smallest nation to ever quality, which tied Ecuador 0-0 in Kansas City on Saturday.

Ecuador was the heavy favorite but Curaçao's goalie, Eloy Room, artfully blocked 15 of Ecuador's shots on goal. The game ended 0-0. Fans at an Ecuadorian watch party said they're proud of their team despite the draw.

They were seriously outnumbered by fans of their rival team, Ecuador, but at the FIFA Fan Festival in Kansas City Saturday, just hours ahead of their team's game, Curaçao fans were confident of a win.

Ecuador faces off against Curaçao Saturday evening, June 20, 2026, at Arrowhead Stadium. But fans from states around the country — and Ecuador itself — have been celebrating their team, blanketing Kansas City in yellow, blue and red.

Curacao, an island nation with a population just over 150,000, is the smallest nation to ever qualify for the men’s World Cup. This is the team’s first World Cup appearance, and they’re uniformly considered an underdog. Even so, fans are thrilled to see their team compete against Ecuador on Saturday.