The island of Curaçao qualifies for the World Cup: it is the smallest national team ever to do so
The small Caribbean country drew against Jamaica, securing a place in the final stages of the 2026 World Cup hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada
The national football team of Curaçao, a small state in the Dutch Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela, has qualified for the final phase of the 2026 World Cup.
In the Italian night came the 0-0 draw with Jamaica, which allowed the small nation, a member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, to finish their group in the lead with 12 points.
The smallest country at the World Cup
With less than 200,000 inhabitants, Curaçao has become the smallest country ever to qualify for a World Cup final. Until a few days ago, the record belonged to Iceland (around 400,000 inhabitants), which qualified for the World Cup in Russia in 2018.
Its surface area of just 444 km² also makes the Caribbean island the smallest nation by area to participate in a World Cup.
How did he qualify
The extension of the Fifa tournament to 48 teams has increased the chances of qualification even for smaller national teams.
