World Cup debut for Curazao, smallest country ever to qualify, with striker who cost 17 million and rebuilt his career
Curazao, a Caribbean island of 155,000 people, makes history as the smallest nation to reach a World Cup. Its first match is against four-time champion Germany today.
A nation smaller than a Mediterranean island
Curazao covers 444 square kilometres (one-eighth the size of Mallorca) and is home to 155,000 people. That makes it the smallest country to ever qualify for a World Cup, breaking the record held by Iceland, which had 350,000 inhabitants at Russia 2018. Every single player in the squad was born in Europe, mostly in the Netherlands, where the team's roots lie. All 24 players called up for the qualifiers hold Dutch passports, and more than half previously represented Dutch youth teams before switching allegiance.
- Iceland (2018)
- 350000 inhabitants
- Curazao (2026)
- 155000 inhabitants
The redemption of Jürgen Locadia
Among those players is Jürgen Locadia, a striker whose career looked set for stardom. After rising through the PSV Eindhoven academy, Brighton paid nearly 17 million euros for him in 2018. But the Premier League move did not go as planned. A series of injuries and loans took him far from the elite. His renaissance came in the Spanish third division, at SD Amorebieta, where sporting director Asier Goiria reached out.
The contrast was stark when Locadia arrived at Urritxe, the club's modest ground. "Someone who was used to much more... he accepted it with humility," Goiria said. That humility is what coaches recall most about the forward's time in Spain. Locadia, now 32, has become a symbol of Curazao's improbable rise."It wasn't a simple operation. More than the 17 million they had paid for him, we had to make him understand that this was the place and that here he would revalue himself again."
An unbeaten path to the finals
Curazao's qualification was sealed in November with a draw in Kingston, Jamaica. The match was a final in all but name, with Jamaica just one point behind. In the 94th minute, the referee awarded a penalty that would have sent Curazao out, but VAR intervened to cancel it. The team, coached by former Premier League manager Dick Advocaat, finished the campaign without losing a match. Advocaat later stepped down to care for his ill daughter, and Fred Rutten, a former PSV and Schalke coach, will lead the side at the tournament.
Martina, the federation president, runs an organisation of just nine to eleven people. "Now we are in the Guinness Book of Records as the smallest nation in World Cup history, but it also means a lot of pressure and responsibility," he said."It is a great dream that has come true. It is a divine journey."
Today's date with Germany
Curazao kicks off its World Cup today at 19:00 against Germany, a four-time champion with a population of 80 million and fifty cities larger than the entire Caribbean island. The match is a David-and-Goliath encounter, but the very presence of the team on the global stage is the real story, one that began with Spanish explorers in 1499 and has now arrived at a football pitch.
