7
The Captain · Wears the armband
Leandro Bacuna
Captain · Midfield · Born Groningen, NL · Former Aston Villa, Cardiff, Watford
The team’s heartbeat and joint most-capped player. No one created more assists (three) during qualifying.
FIFA World Cup 2026 · USA · Canada · Mexico
Curaçao
An island of 156,000 just qualified for the World Cup. The smallest nation ever to make it — and they did it unbeaten.
Debut kickoff vs Germany
—
days to 14 June, Houston
CuraçaoWorld Cup DebutSmallest Nation EverUnbeaten QualifiersDushi KòrsouThe Blue Wave156,000 StrongCuraçaoWorld Cup DebutSmallest Nation EverUnbeaten QualifiersDushi KòrsouThe Blue Wave156,000 Strong
01
The night it became real
The Debut
A point was all Curaçao needed. In a winner-takes-all finale, a goalless draw away to Steve McClaren’s Jamaica sealed top spot in CONCACAF third-round Group B — and a first World Cup in the nation’s history. Dick Advocaat watched from afar, having stepped away for family reasons, with Dean Gorré leading on the touchline.
7 – 0away at Bermuda in the third round5 – 1past Haiti in the second roundUnbeatenacross all ten qualifiers
The decisive result
Jamaica
0 – 0
Curaçao
18 November 2025 · Kingston, Jamaica
~156,000
People on the island
The smallest nation by population ever to reach a men’s World Cup, beating Iceland’s 350,000 mark from 2018.
444 km²
Total land area
Also the smallest qualifier by area — claimed just five weeks after Cape Verde set the previous record.
10
Qualifiers unbeaten
Seven wins and three draws across the second and third CONCACAF rounds. No team beat them on the way.
78
Years old: the coach
Dick Advocaat becomes the oldest head coach in World Cup history when Curaçao kick off against Germany.
One of four nations making their World Cup debut in 2026, alongside Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan.
02
Group E · all three in the USA
Group Stage
Drawn against four-time champions Germany, South America’s Ecuador and the Ivory Coast. Three matches, three American cities, and a whole island watching.
Matchday 1
Sun 14 June 2026
CuraçaovsGermany
Houston Stadium
Houston, Texas
12:00 CDT
Four-time champions
Matchday 2
Sat 20 June 2026
CuraçaovsEcuador
Kansas City Stadium
Kansas City, Missouri
19:00 CDT
CONMEBOL qualifier
Matchday 3
Thu 25 June 2026
CuraçaovsIvory Coast
Philadelphia Stadium
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
16:00 ET
African contenders
03
The names carrying the island
The Squad
11Winger
Tahith Chong
Born Willemstad, Curaçao · Sheffield United
The only squad member actually born on the island. A former Manchester United talent, he scored three times in his first six caps.
8Attacking Midfield
Juninho Bacuna
Born Groningen, NL · Former Huddersfield, Rangers
Leandro’s younger brother and the side’s creative engine — he led all of CONCACAF qualifying with 20 chances created from open play.
1Goalkeeper
Eloy Room
Born Nijmegen, NL · Former Columbus Crew, PSV
The veteran last line and joint most-capped player. An MLS Cup winner who has anchored the defence for a decade.
17Winger
Sontje Hansen
Born Amsterdam, NL · Middlesbrough
Pace off either flank. A former Ajax academy graduate adding youth and directness to the attack.
4Defender
Amando Obispo
Born Rotterdam, NL · PSV Eindhoven
A title-winning centre-back and a recent recruit — previously capped by the Netherlands at youth level.
The rest of the 26
Squad named 18 May 2026
Beyond the names above, Dick Advocaat called a 26-man group drawn from across the Netherlands, Turkey, England, the United States, Israel and Malaysia. The full complement:
Goalkeepers
- Tyrick BodakSC Telstar
- Trevor DoornbuschVVV-Venlo
Defenders
- Riechedly BazoerKonyaspor
- Joshua BrenetKayserispor
- Roshon van EijmaRKC Waalwijk
- Sherel FloranusPEC Zwolle
- Deveron FonvilleNEC Nijmegen
- Juriën GaariAbha Club
- Shurandy SamboSparta Rotterdam
Midfielders
- Livano ComenenciaFC Zürich
- Kevin FelidaFC Den Bosch
- Ar'Jany MarthaRotherham United
- Tyrese NoslinSC Telstar
- Godfried RoemeratoeRKC Waalwijk
Forwards
- Jeremy AntonisseAE Kifisia
- Kenji GorréMaccabi Haifa
- Gervane KastaneerTerengganu FC
- Brandley KuwasFC Volendam
- Jürgen LocadiaMiami FC
- Jearl MargarithaSK Beveren
The Dutch connection
25/26
players born in the Netherlands. Only Tahith Chong was born on the island.
Curaçao is a constituent country inside the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and for centuries it fed talent to the Oranje. A FIFA rule change now lets players who represented the Netherlands at youth level switch to the island of their heritage — and a generation chose blue.
The manager
Dick Advocaat
The 78-year-old Dutch coaching institution — once of Rangers, the Netherlands and Sunderland — guides the side he built. When Curaçao kick off against Germany, he becomes the oldest head coach in the history of the World Cup.
Oldest coach in World Cup history
CuraçaoWorld Cup DebutSmallest Nation EverUnbeaten QualifiersDushi KòrsouThe Blue Wave156,000 StrongCuraçaoWorld Cup DebutSmallest Nation EverUnbeaten QualifiersDushi KòrsouThe Blue Wave156,000 Strong
04
Dushi Kòrsou · sweet Curaçao
The Island
- LocationSouthern Caribbean, ~65 km north of Venezuela
- CapitalWillemstad — a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- IslandsLargest of the ABC trio: Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao
- StatusA constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
- HeritageMore than 50 nationalities call the island home
Willemstad
Founded by the Dutch West India Company in 1634 on the Schottegat harbour, the capital is famous for the candy-coloured Dutch colonial façades of the Handelskade waterfront and the floating Queen Emma Bridge. Its historic centre has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.
HandelskadeQueen Emma BridgeSchottegat HarbourUNESCO 1997
“The Blue Wave” · Famia Kòrsou
Adopted in 1984: blue for the sea and sky, a yellow stripe for the bright Caribbean sun, and two white stars for Curaçao and its little sister island, Klein Curaçao.
05
Tap a card to translate
Papiamentu
The island’s own creole — and one of the truest expressions of who Curaçaoans are. Here are a few words to carry into June.
Papiamentu blends Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, African languages, English, French and Arawak — born among enslaved communities and grown into a national tongue.
The name comes from the Portuguese "papia", to speak: literally, "the way one speaks".
The first printed book in Papiamentu, an 1837 Catholic catechism, was added to the UNESCO Memory of the World register in 2009.
It is the mother tongue of most islanders and an official language of Curaçao alongside Dutch and English.
06
Rhythm, colour and Carnival
The Culture
Tumba
The island’s signature rhythm, named for the conga drums that drive it. An annual Tumba Festival crowns the song that becomes the Carnival Road March.
Carnival
The premier celebration of the year — weeks of music, costume and parade leading into Lent, drawing the whole island into the street.
Seú & Tambú
African-rooted harvest and percussion traditions that, like tumba, trace the island’s history straight back through its music.
Laraha
The bitter orange whose dried peel flavours the famous blue Curaçao liqueur — a fruit that grows almost nowhere else on earth.
Beisbòl · the island’s other miracle
A baseball superpower
Long before football, baseball was the island’s heartbeat. Andruw Jones’ rise with the Atlanta Braves in 1996 lit a fuse: youth enrolment exploded from a few hundred to thousands, and tiny Curaçao became, per head of population, the most productive baseball nation on earth.
2004
Little League World Series champions
Pabao Little League of Willemstad — still the only team from the Caribbean ever to win it.
9
straight trips to Williamsport
Willemstad’s Pabao and Pariba leagues won the Caribbean region nine years running, 2001–2009.
14+
sons of the island in MLB since 2000
The highest per-capita rate of any country in the world, from a population near 156,000.
50–28
all-time record in Williamsport
Across more than a dozen Little League World Series appearances, through 2025.
Williamsport, 2004
The 2004 title arrived the hard way. In the international final, Pabao trailed Chinese Taipei 8–4 going to the last at-bat; a future MLB All-Star named Jonathan Schoop tied it with a two-run single, then walked it off 9–8 in extra innings. The team returned to the championship game again in 2005. On that field were Schoop and Jurickson Profar — both of whom grew up to start in MLB All-Star Games.
Sons of the island in the majors
Andruw JonesKenley JansenAndrelton SimmonsDidi GregoriusJonathan SchoopJurickson ProfarOzzie AlbiesJair Jurrjens
…and the next generation is already on the way to Williamsport.
Tenis · a Grand Slam son of the island
Jean-Julien Rojer
Born Willemstad · 25 August 1981
Football is not the only world stage Curaçao has conquered. Born in Willemstad, Jean-Julien Rojer became the first player from the island to crack the world’s top ten in doubles — and, eventually, a four-time Grand Slam champion. He played his way up through UCLA, represented the Netherlands Antilles before the Dutch flag, and carried Curaçao’s name onto Centre Court.
37 ATP Tour doubles titles, the 2015 season-ending ATP Finals, and three Olympic Games — a quiet giant of Curaçaoan sport.
No. 3
Career-high world doubles ranking (November 2015) — the first Curaçaoan to reach the top ten.
2015 Wimbledon
Men’s doubles champion, with Horia Tecău.
2017 US Open
Men’s doubles champion, with Horia Tecău.
2022 Roland-Garros
Men’s doubles champion with Marcelo Arévalo — saving three championship points to become, at 40, the oldest men’s doubles major winner of the Open Era.
2014 Roland-Garros
Mixed doubles champion, with Anna-Lena Grönefeld.
Kuminda · a table of many worlds
Eat the island
More than fifty nationalities have seasoned the island’s kitchen. The result is a table where African, Indonesian, Dutch and Caribbean flavours share the same plate.
Funchi
A firm cornmeal staple — polenta’s Caribbean cousin — stirred from cornmeal, water and butter, then served soft or fried into golden sticks. With its sibling tutu (sweetened with black-eyed peas), it carries the island’s West African heritage straight onto the plate.
Rijsttafel
The “rice table” — a spread of a dozen-plus small, spiced dishes around a mound of rice. It travelled the Dutch colonial route from Indonesia and settled in as one of the island’s great feasts.
Truk’i Pan
Curaçao’s late-night “bread trucks”: food trucks that fire up after dark across the island, grilling chicken, ribs and steak into soft bread or with fries, finished with a mildly spicy onion relish. BBQ Express on Caracasbaaiweg is a local institution.
Poffertjes
Fluffy, button-sized Dutch pancakes dusted with powdered sugar — a sweet legacy of the Netherlands that turns up at markets and festivals wherever a crowd gathers.
Loaded Patat
The island’s favourite indulgence: a cone of hot fries drowned in satay-style peanut sauce, then piled with tangy pickled vegetables (atjar), a ribbon of ketchup and a generous swirl of mayonnaise. A Dutch–Indonesian mash-up of flavours that perfectly maps the island’s history onto a single snack.
Herensia · story, faith and freedom
Island heritage
A literary island
Curaçao has long lived on the page. Theodore Taylor’s beloved 1969 novel “The Cay” opens in wartime Willemstad before casting a boy and an old West Indian sailor, Timothy, adrift on a tiny Caribbean key. The island’s own great novel is Frank Martinus Arion’s “Dubbelspel” (Double Play, 1973), a landmark of Antillean literature — and beneath the printed word runs an older oral tradition of Kompa Nanzi, the West-African spider-trickster whose tales travelled the Middle Passage and took root in Papiamentu.
Tula’s revolt
On 17 August 1795, an enslaved man named Tula led one of the Caribbean’s great uprisings for freedom, marching from the Knip plantation in the island’s west and demanding liberty weeks before it was won anywhere else nearby. The revolt was crushed and Tula brutally executed, but he was never forgotten: declared a national hero, he is honoured every 17 August as Curaçao marks its Day of the Struggle for Freedom.
10-10-10 · status aparte
Becoming a country
10 October 2010
On 10-10-10, the Netherlands Antilles — the federation that had bound the Dutch Caribbean islands together since 1954 — was formally dissolved. At the stroke of midnight Curaçao became an autonomous country in its own right within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, running its own government while the Kingdom keeps charge of defence and foreign affairs. It is that distinct national footing, alongside Aruba and Sint Maarten, that lets Kòrsou march to the World Cup under its own flag.
- 1954The Netherlands Antilles is created as an autonomous partner in the Kingdom — successor to the old colony of Curaçao and Dependencies.
- 1986Aruba breaks away first, taking “status aparte” as a separate country within the Kingdom.
- 2005In a referendum, Curaçao votes to leave the federation and govern itself.
- 2010On 10-10-10 the Antilles dissolve: Curaçao and Sint Maarten become countries; Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius become special Dutch municipalities.