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11/19 08:26 CST Curaao makes soccer history as smallest nation by population
to qualify for a World Cup
Curaao makes soccer history as smallest nation by population to qualify for a
World Cup
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) --- The tiny Caribbean island country Curaao will go to
the 2026 World Cup as the smallest nation by population ever to qualify for the
marquee event in men's soccer.
Curaao, an autonomous territory of about 156,000 people within the Netherlands
kingdom, takes the record of Iceland, with a population of just over 350,000,
which was the previous smallest country to reach the World Cup when it
qualified for Russia 2018.
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.
Curaao has actively recruited from its diaspora, getting permission from FIFA
within world soccer's rules to change the national-team eligibility of players
who once represented the Netherlands at youth or Under-21 level, including five
since August.
Defender Joshua Brenet even played a World Cup qualifying game for the
Netherlands in 2016.
Tahith Chong, a former Manchester United youth player, is one of the few squad
members born in Curaao, which was called Netherlands Antilles until getting
its autonomy 15 years ago.
A storied Dutch coach has led Curaao on to the elite stage for the first
expanded 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Dick Advocaat, at age 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.
Curaao'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, Bandlrmaspor in the Turkish second division and
Abha in Saudi Arabia.
Curaao 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 saw Jamaica strike the woodwork three times in the second half in
Kingston. A potentially decisive penalty kick awarded to the home team in
stoppage time was overturned after a video review.
Curaao will be joined by regional neighbors Panama and Haiti, which also
booked their World Cup spots Tuesday.
Panama advanced to its second World Cup after defeating El Salvador 3-0 on
first-half goals from Csar 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 favorites Honduras and Costa Rica, which
was a quarterfinalist at the 2014 World Cup.
Haiti's only previous trip to the World Cup was in West Germany in 1974.
The Caribbean and central American results 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.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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