Curaçao produced one of the exceptional moments in soccer historical past on Tuesday by changing into the smallest nation by inhabitants ever to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. Their goalless draw in opposition to Jamaica in Kingston was sufficient to safe a spot within the 2026 match. With a inhabitants of simply 158,000, the Caribbean island inside the Kingdom of the Netherlands broke Iceland’s earlier report from 2018, when the Nordic nation certified with greater than double Curaçao’s inhabitants.
Photographs of Curaçao’s gamers and supporters celebrating their historic achievement shortly went viral because the tiny nation booked its first ever World Cup ticket.
To know the size of this milestone, Curaçao has a inhabitants of about 156,115 folks as of January 1, 2025. In the meantime, Delhi, India’s capital, has an estimated inhabitants of about 3.5 crore.
Qualification
Curaçao’s qualification capped an unbeaten run in Group B the place they completed with 12 factors. The workforce was led by veteran Dutch coach Dick Advocaat, though he missed the decisive match because of a household matter. Often called the Blue Wave, the facet delivered a number of standout performances all through the qualifying stage. Their 7–0 demolition of Bermuda was the most important win by any workforce within the spherical and in the end proved decisive because it gave them the sting over Jamaica by a single level.
The ultimate match in Kingston supplied excessive stress and late drama. Jamaica, managed by former England boss Steve McClaren, got here agonizingly shut on a number of events. They hit the woodwork 3 times within the second half and almost snatched victory within the 87th minute when Bailey Tire Cadamarteri’s header ricocheted off the put up. Deep into stoppage time, the hosts have been awarded a penalty after Dujuan Richards went down within the space. Nevertheless, VAR overturned the choice, triggering emotional celebrations on Curaçao’s bench as they held on for the draw that secured their first ever World Cup qualification.
CONCAF Qualifiers
In different CONCACAF qualifiers, Panama claimed their second World Cup look with a dominant 3–0 victory over El Salvador, ending on prime of Group A with 12 factors. Suriname, who started the ultimate spherical degree on factors with Panama, noticed their hopes of automated qualification finish after a 3–1 loss to Guatemala, though they nonetheless booked a spot within the inter federation playoffs.
Group C delivered one other main storyline as Haiti returned to the World Cup for the primary time since 1974 after beating Nicaragua 2–0. Objectives from Louicius Don Deedson and Ruben Windfall helped them end the group with 11 factors. The win held added emotional weight as Haiti have been compelled to play their residence fixtures on Curaçaoan soil as a result of unrest affecting their nation.
The playoff locations from CONCACAF went to Jamaica and Suriname who will now compete in a six workforce inter continental match in March. They are going to be joined by Bolivia, New Caledonia, DR Congo and Iraq with solely two World Cup spots obtainable.
Curaçao will uncover their group stage opponents on December 5 when FIFA conducts the 2026 World Cup draw on the Kennedy Middle in Washington, D C.