Curaçao, Panama, and Haiti: The New World Cup Qualifiers
Curaçao has made history by becoming the smallest nation to qualify for the final phase of a World Cup. They secured their spot 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 exciting final qualifying round, where countries from the region compete alongside the host nations and the direct qualifiers: United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The small Caribbean island, with a population of only 156,115 inhabitants and an area of 444 square kilometers, surpassed Iceland’s record, which was classified in 2018 with a population of just over 350,000.
Curaçao, led by former Premier League coach Dick Advocaat, who was unable to be present at the match against Jamaica for personal reasons, completed an undefeated qualifying campaign, including an impressive 7-0 victory over Bermuda.
Advocaat, with previous experience at the helm of the Netherlands national team on three occasions and managing South Korea, Belgium, and Russia, now leads Curaçao to its first World Cup.
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Curaçao will learn its group stage rivals for its historic first World Cup appearance on December 5th at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
Panama 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 added another goal 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 on the last day by goal difference, lost 3-1 against Guatemala and finished in second place with nine points.
Haiti starred in a surprising campaign by winning Group C over 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-confederation play-off and will compete with Bolivia, New Caledonia, DR Congo and Iraq in a six-team tournament in March for two places in the World Cup.
