When Curacao held Jamaica to a goalless draw in Kingston on November 18, 2025, the Caribbean island nation secured its place in football history — becoming the smallest country, by population, ever to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
With fewer than 160,000 inhabitants, Curacao punched so far above their weight that the achievement barely seems real. Yet come June 14, they will line up against Germany in Houston — and the world will be watching.
Where exactly is Curacao?
Curacao is a Caribbean island situated roughly 40 miles off the northern coast of Venezuela. Since the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, it has functioned as a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with Dutch, English, and Papiamentu — a Portuguese-based creole — as its official languages.
The island is widely associated with the vibrant blue liqueur that bears its name.
A short but eventful footballing history
Curacao's football story only began in earnest after 2010, when they inherited the Netherlands Antilles' FIFA membership and a world ranking of 151. Their debut match ended in a 1-0 friendly defeat to the Dominican Republic on August 18, 2011, and their first victory came just months later — a 3-0 win over the US Virgin Islands in November that year.
Notable figures have passed through the dugout since: Patrick Kluivert, the former Ajax and Barcelona striker, managed the team between 2015 and 2016 and again as caretaker in 2021, while Guus Hiddink — former manager of PSV, Real Madrid, and Chelsea — held charge from August 2020 to September 2021.
In the latest FIFA rankings, Curacao sit 83rd among 211 nations, making them the second-lowest ranked side at the tournament, behind New Zealand.
The manager: Dick Advocaat
Dick Advocaat, the 78-year-old Dutch coaching legend who has managed the Netherlands on three separate occasions, took charge of Curacao in January 2024 on a one-year deal with a further one-year option.
He guided the team through qualifying before resigning in February 2026 to care for his daughter, who was dealing with health issues. He said:
