Curacao have written their names into football history after becoming the smallest nation ever to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, sealing their place at the 2026 tournament with a hard-fought goalless draw against Steve McClaren’s Jamaica in Kingston.
The result ended Jamaica’s bid to reach their first World Cup since 1998 and immediately triggered McClaren’s resignation. Curacao, with a population of just over 150,000 and a land area smaller than the Isle of Man, now break the previous record held by Iceland, who were the smallest nation at the 2018 World Cup.
Head coach Dick Advocaat, who missed the match due to personal reasons, is set to make history of his own. At 78 years old, he will become the oldest manager ever to appear at a World Cup when the tournament kicks off.
Curacao’s rise is one of the sport’s most remarkable modern stories. Just a decade ago, they were ranked 150th in the world. They will arrive at the expanded 2026 finals ranked 82nd, unbeaten across their 10 qualifying matches, winning seven and drawing the rest.
Their dream nearly collapsed deep into stoppage time when the referee awarded Jamaica a penalty, but VAR overturned the decision after review — triggering wild celebrations among Curacao’s players and traveling supporters.
Curacao will join fellow first-time qualifiers Cape Verde, Uzbekistan, and Jordan at the 2026 World Cup. Elsewhere in the CONCACAF qualifiers, Haiti and Panama also booked their places, with Haiti returning to the global stage for the first time since 1974.
