Curaçao Becomes Smallest Country in World Cup

The Curaçao national team has qualified for the World Cup. They secured their spot by drawing against Jamaica, leaving their opponents—Jamaica, a former World Cup participant (Argentina-Jamaica 5:0)—one point behind.

This is Curaçao’s first success in the World Cup qualifiers, and they immediately set a record as the smallest country ever to qualify for the final stage. Curaçao has an area of 444 square kilometers (equivalent to Andorra) and a population of 155,000 people.

The team is managed by former Russia national team head coach Dick Advocaat. Interestingly, all players on the Curaçao national team hold Dutch passports and play in the Dutch league, as the island was formerly a colony of the Netherlands.