Curacao becomes smallest nation to qualify for FIFA World Cup
What's the story
Curacao made history by becoming the smallest nation by population to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. The Caribbean island nation achieved this feat after drawing 0-0 with Jamaica on Tuesday. This will be Curacao's first-ever appearance in the global football tournament, further highlighting their remarkable achievement in the sport. Curacao prevailed despite missing their coach, Dick Advocaat. Here are further details.
Tournament performance
Curacao's unbeaten run in the tournament
Curacao topped the FIFA World Cup CONCACAF Group B with 12 points, remaining unbeaten throughout the tournament. They won three matches, drawing as many. The team's historic achievement came despite coach Dick Advocaat's absence during the crucial match against Jamaica. Advocaat had to return to the Netherlands last weekend due to family reasons, leaving his assistant in charge for this important game.
Population details
Curacao break this record of Iceland
As mentioned, Curacao is now the smallest nation to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics in Curacao, the nation had a population of 1,56,115 people as of January. Before this, Iceland was the smallest country to qualify for a World Cup with just over 3,50,000 people. The nation qualified for the tournament in Russia in 2018.
Additional qualifiers
Other CONCACAF teams qualify for World Cup
Along with Curacao, other CONCACAF sides, Panama and Haiti, also qualified for the World Cup. Panama secured their second World Cup spot after defeating El Salvador 3-0. They suffered a solitary defeat. Meanwhile, Haiti surprised many by topping Group C over favorites Honduras and Costa Rica after beating Nicaragua 2-0.