On Tuesday November 18 2025, Curacao travelled to Kingston to take on Jamaica in a winner-takes-all World Cup qualifier.Jamaica – led by Steve McClaren – trailed their opponents by one point, so needed to win to reach the tournament for the second time, and the first time since France ’98.
Curacao – led by Dick Advocaat – only needed one point to qualify for the tournament for the first time in history.
A 0-0 draw ensured they did just that.
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Curacao qualified for their first World Cup after a 0-0 draw with Jamaica in November
It was a seismic result for the Caribbean nation, who – with a population of less than 160,000 – became the smallest to ever reach the World Cup.
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But how did they get there? Who are their star players? And what are their chances?
Here are the key questions answered…
Where is Curacao?Curacao is an island country in the Caribbean, around 40 miles north of the coast of Venezuela. Since the dissolution of the Dutch Antilles in 2010, it has been a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.The official languages are Dutch, English and Papiamentu – a Portuguese-based creole language – and the nation is known for the orange liqueur of the same name, which is often dyed a vibrant blue.What’s their footballing history?Pre-2010, the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten were all represented by the Netherlands Antilles national team. After the aforementioned dissolution, Curacao took on the Netherlands Antilles’ FIFA membership and ranking of 151.Their first ever match was a…
2026-06-08 10:00:00
