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The tiny Caribbean island country of Curaçao will go to the 2026 World Cup as the smallest nation by population ever to qualify for the marquee event in men’s soccer.
Curaçao — an autonomous territory of about 156,000 people within the Netherlands kingdom — takes the record from Iceland, with a population of just over 350,000, which was the previous smallest country to reach the World Cup when it qualified in 2018.
The population of Curaçao is only slightly more than that of Lethbridge, Alta., which is home to about 140,000 people.
A team relying heavily on players born and raised in the Netherlands rode its luck Tuesday to take a 0-0 draw in Jamaica and finish top of a four-team group. Its other opponents were Trinidad and Tobago and last-place Bermuda.
Curaçao has actively recruited from its diaspora, getting permission from FIFA within world soccer’s rules to change the national-team eligibility of five players, since August, who once represented the Netherlands at youth or Under-21 levels.
Defender Joshua Brenet even played a World Cup qualifying game for the Netherlands in 2016.
Dutch coach leads team to world stage
Tahith Chong, a former Manchester United youth player, is one of the few squad members born in Curaçao, which was called Netherlands Antilles until getting its autonomy 15 years ago.
A storied Dutch coach has led Curaçao to the elite stage for the first expanded 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Dick Advocaat, at 78, is set to lead his third team at a World Cup, and his second in the U.S. He took his native Netherlands to the quarterfinals at the 1994 edition and coached South Korea at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Curaçao’s adventure is set to put players from unheralded clubs on the biggest stage. The squad that clinched qualification included players from Rotherham in England’s third-tier league, Bandırmaspor in the Turkish second division, and Abha in Saudi Arabia.
Curaçao got the historic result despite not having Advocaat on the bench. He missed the match in Jamaica because he had to return to the Netherlands last weekend for family reasons.
His team rode its luck in Kingston as Jamaica struck the woodwork three times in the second half. A potentially decisive penalty kick awarded to the home team in stoppage time was overturned after a video review.
Panama and Haiti also nab spots
Curaçao will be joined by regional neighbours Panama and Haiti, which also booked their World Cup spots on Tuesday.
Panama advanced to its second World Cup after defeating El Salvador 3-0 on first-half goals from César Blackman and Erick Davis, plus Jose Luis Rodriguez late in the game.
Panama’s only previous World Cup appearance was in 2018. It overtook Suriname, another Dutch-influenced team, which started play atop the group before losing 3-1 against Guatemala.
Haiti, a troubled Caribbean country, had a surprising campaign and beat Nicaragua 2-0 to win its group over favourites Honduras and Costa Rica, which was a quarterfinalist at the 2014 World Cup.
FIFA has unveiled its mascots for the upcoming 2026 World Cup, with one for each host country. Canada will be represented by Maple the moose, Mexico by Zayu the jaguar and the U.S. by Clutch the bald eagle.
Haiti’s only previous trip to the World Cup was in West Germany in 1974.
The Caribbean and central American results on Tuesday also finalized the six teams which will take part in the intercontinental playoffs in Mexico in March.
Two teams will qualify from the playoffs, which includes Jamaica and Suriname, plus Iraq from Asia, Congo from Africa, Bolivia from South America and New Caledonia from Oceania.