In a corner of the Caribbean With barely 155,000 people, football has given history a new epic story that can cause an unexpected revolution. Curacao, historically linked to the Netherlands Antilles and today converted into an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is one step away from starring in an unprecedented event in the history of the World Cups: Being the smallest country to qualify for a World Cup and doing so without a single footballer born in its territory. The smallest country to have qualified for the tournament until then was Iceland, in 2018, with a population of around of 350,000 inhabitants and about 444 square kilometers.
The 24 called for this double date were born in Europe, from Rotterdam, Utrecht, Groningen or Amsterdam.
Curaçao, or Curaçao, has several days marked in red on its calendar. On October 10, the country’s anniversary is celebrated as an autonomous nation within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. April 27, King’s Day and July 2, Flag Day. But now they must add one more national date: November 18, 2025. That day, The Curacao team made history and qualified for the first time in a soccer World Cup.
Curacao tied this morning 0-0 against Jamaica in Kingston to seal their first qualification for a soccer World Cup, by taking first place in Group B of the Concacaf qualifying round for the 2026 North American World Cup. The Curacao team, a global surprise in the qualifiers, arrived at Independence Park needing only a draw against the Reggae Boyz who will postpone the dream of returning to a World Cup after 28 years, with the play-offs as the last opportunity.
Led by former Premier League coach Dick Advocaat, who missed the match against Jamaica for personal reasons, they completed their entire qualifying campaign unbeaten, recording a mammoth 7-0 victory over Bermuda on their way to securing their World Cup spot.
Advocaat led the Netherlands national team in three spells and coached South Korea, Belgium and Russia before taking over in Curacao.
Curacao will meet its rivals in the group stage of its historic first participation in the World Cup when the draw takes place on December 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC
A very Spanish story
The history of Curaçao It dates back to the Arawak and Caquetío Amerindian peoples, who inhabited the island before the arrival of the Spanish in 1499.. The island became a Spanish colony and then a center of the slave trade under Dutch rule beginning in 1634. Over time, it has gone through periods of British control and became a major oil refining center for the Allies during World War II.
The first inhabitants were the Arawak and Caquetío people, originally from South America, who arrived on the island hundreds of years ago. In 1499, the Spanish Alonso de Ojeda was the first European to discover the island. The Spanish established their administration in 1526, but found little economic interest due to a lack of gold.
In 1634, The Dutch took over the island, which became an important center of the transatlantic slave trade. The Jewish community, fleeing persecution in Europe, settled on the island and significantly influenced its economy and culture. The abolition of slavery in the West Indies occurred in 1863, the same year as the Emancipation Proclamation in the US.
20th century and autonomy. In the early 20th century, the establishment of the Royal Dutch Shell oil refinery made Curaçao a strategic center and employed many people in the region.
The island played a vital role for the Allies during World War II due to its oil refineries.
In 1954, Curacao and other Dutch dependencies were reorganized as the Netherlands Antilles and gained autonomy in internal affairs but it would not be until 2020 that it would become an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The 42 teams classified so far are the following:
. Hosts: Canada, United States and Mexico.
. Asia: Saudi Arabia, Australia, Qatar, South Korea, Iran, Japan, Jordan and Uzbekistan.
. Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.
. Conmebol: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Concacaf: Panama, Curacao and Haiti.
. Europa: England, France, Croatia, Portugal, Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Scotland and Switzerland.
. Oceania: New Zealand.
Teams with a place in the intercontinental play-off tournament that will grant two tickets to the World Cup: Bolivia, New Caledonia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Jamaica and Suriname.
