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During the U.S. team’s victory over Denmark in the Winter Olympics, two fans waved the Greenland flag in the stands to protest President Donald Trump’s plans to acquire Greenland for the United States.
The flag was raised enthusiastically after Denmark took the lead. However, the United States came back to win the match 6-3.
Vita Kalniņa and her husband Alexander Kalniņš, fans of the Latvian hockey team living in Germany, waved a large Greenland flag during warm-ups and again when the Danish team scored the first goal in the preliminary round match against the United States, which ultimately beat Denmark 6-3.
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Brady Tkachuk of the United States, right, challenges Oliver Bjorkstrand of Denmark in a men’s ice hockey preliminary match at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
“We are Europeans and I think as Europeans we must stay united,” Kalniņš told the Associated Press.
“The Greenlandic people decide what happens with Greenland, but as it stands Greenland is part of the Danish Kingdom and because Greenland is part of Denmark, as in this case, we support both countries against the United States.”
A Danish fan at the match, Dennis Petersen, said: “It doesn’t matter what sport – it can be tennis, it can be bobsleigh, it can be ice hockey, it can be football – it has nothing to do with politics. …They are athletes, not politicians.
Rem de Rohan, an American fan at the match, said: “I think it’s time for people to put this aside and compete country against country and enjoy it,” he said. “We like to build on all the countries that have come here.”
Fans on social media had their own reactions to the flag display and the match result.
“Now that the US leads 4-2, could we bet that if the US wins the match, Denmark will drop out of Greenland?” one fan wrote in response to the flag.
One fan wrote: “Team USA won, will we get Greenland now?” »
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Jack Eichel of the United States, second from right, celebrates after scoring his team’s third goal in a men’s ice hockey preliminary match against Denmark at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Another fan said similarly: “How did it go? We won, we have Greenland now.”
Some American conservative influencers used the American victory as a springboard to launch viral jokes about the annexation of Greenland.
The United States’ victory seemed uncertain at the start of the match.
After leading 2-1 in the first period, the Americans dominated on offense to earn a 6-3 victory over Denmark on Saturday. Milan Cortina Olympic Games.
The Americans scored three unanswered goals to open the second period, with 4 Nations hero Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators), Jack Eichel (Vegas Golden Knights) and Noah Hanifin (Vegas Golden Knights) finding the back of the net.
Both sets of brothers on the team – Brady and Matthew Tkachuk and Jack and Quinn Hughes – each scored a point in the contest. Fourteen players scored points for the Americans with a different scorer each time the lamp was lit.
The Americans managed 47 shots on goal, compared to 21 for Denmark.
The United States ends the preliminaries on Sunday with a match against Germany at 3:10 p.m. ET. The Americans will once again be the big favorites and a victory will place them in the round of 16.
The Americans can also advance directly to the round of 16 in the event of a defeat in overtime. In the event of a defeat in regulation time, their fate would be determined by Canada’s match against France and by the points gap with Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.
But as heavy favorites against a German team with just eight NHL players, the United States may have nothing to worry about.
