Curaçao Makes History: The Smallest Nation to Qualify for the World Cup
Curaçao has achieved a historic feat by becoming the smallest nation to qualify for a World Cup. The Caribbean team secured their place after a 0-0 draw against Jamaica on the final day of the Concacaf qualifying phase.
Panama and Haiti also secured their place in the next qualifying round, a tournament that includes the host nations and those automatically qualified, such as the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
This small island, located in the Caribbean, has a population of only 156,115 inhabitants and an area of 444 square kilometers. Curaçao finished the tournament undefeated, leading Group B with 12 points.
They surpassed Iceland’s record, which qualified in 2018 with a population of just over 350,000 inhabitants.
Led by former Premier League coach Dick Advocaat, who missed the match against Jamaica for personal reasons, Curaçao maintained their unbeaten record throughout the qualifying phase, including a resounding 7-0 victory over Bermuda.
Advocaat, with previous experience in the national team of the Netherlands, as well as in South Korea, Belgium, and Russia, now leads Curaçao to this unprecedented achievement.
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The group stage draw for Curaçao’s historic first appearance at the World Cup will take place on December 5th at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
Panama, for its part, advanced to its second World Cup after defeating El Salvador 3-0, with goals from César Blackman and Erick Davis in the first half. José Luis Rodríguez also scored for the Panamanians, who have only participated in the 2018 Russia World Cup.
Panama finished as the best team in Group A with 12 points, while Suriname, which led the table on goal difference, lost 3-1 against Guatemala and finished in second place with nine points.
Haiti starred in a surprising campaign, winning Group C above Honduras and Costa Rica, after defeating Nicaragua 2-1. The results of Group C mean that neither Honduras nor Costa Rica will participate in next summer’s tournament.
Loicious Deedson opened the scoring in the ninth minute and Rubén Providence added a goal in the 45th. Haiti’s only previous participation in the World Cup was in Germany in 1974.
The Haitians finished with 11 points, while Honduras had nine and Costa Rica, seven.
Jamaica and Suriname, who finished in second place, secured the last two Concacaf spots for the FIFA inter-federation play-off and will compete with Bolivia, New Caledonia, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iraq in a six-team tournament in March for two places in the World Cup.
