This November 18 marked a historic stage in Concacaf. Curacao draws in Jamaica (0-0) and qualifies for the next World Cup. At the same time, Costa Rica and Honduras bid farewell to the World Cup, while Haiti returned after participating in the final tournament of Germany 74. Panama also qualified. Suriname and Jamaica will compete in the play-offs in March. It should be noted that with the direct qualification of the hosts of the United States, Canada and Mexico, Concacaf has reserved surprises in this qualifying phase.
Curaçao is a miracle. It is the least populated country, around 155,000 inhabitants, which will play the World Cup. Curacao, in this way, becomes the fourth team to qualify for a World Cup for the first time after Uzbekistan, Jordan and Cape Verde. Curacao will also break another record in the final tournament which will be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico. With 444 square kilometers of extension, in the Caribbean Sea and very close to the coast of Venezuela, this island will be the country with the smallest territorial area where the World Cup will be played. As an example of its tiny territory, El Hierro (268 square kilometers), La Gomera (369) and La Palma (708) are the three smallest islands of the Canary Islands.
Curaçao’s draw against Jamaica also shows a very special aspect. Curacao is a Caribbean island that is part of the crown of the Netherlands, so this state will be represented at the World Cup by two teams, the Netherlands (which can also be called Holland) and Curacao. The inhabitants of Curaçao have a Dutch passport, so they enjoy all the rights of being citizens of the European Union, although the island, in the Netherlands Antilles, is not part of the European Union.
The Curaçao national team is led by Dick Advocaat, the illustrious 78-year-old Dutch football coach. Advocaat, for example, was the Netherlands coach at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, where the Dutch team reached the quarter-finals, losing to Brazil with players like Romario and Bebeto, champion of that edition after beating Italy in the final on penalties. Curaçao is a team made up essentially of footballers who play in the Dutch league. Advocaat has coached teams such as PSV, Dortmund and Rangers, among many others.
There are now 42 teams qualified for the final phase of the 2026 World Cup: host countries: Canada, United States and Mexico. Asia: Saudi Arabia, Australia, Qatar, South Korea, Iran, Japan, Jordan and Uzbekistan. Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia. Conmebol: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay. Concacaf: Panama, Curacao and Haiti. Europe: England, France, Croatia, Portugal, Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Scotland and Switzerland. Oceania: New Zealand.
The six remaining places will come from the European play-off qualifiers (Italy plays them, for example), with four tickets, while the last two places will come from the so-called intercontinental, for which Bolivia, New Caledonia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Jamaica and Suriname have qualified. These repechage qualifiers will be held next March.
