Curaçao becomes smallest team ever to qualify for the FIFA World Cup

Curaçao has qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup for the first time in its history, becoming the smallest country or territory ever to reach the tournament.

The team secured its place after a 0–0 draw against Jamaica on Tuesday in the final match of Group B in the Concacaf qualifiers.

The result put Curaçao at the top of the group with 12 points, finishing one point ahead of Jamaica and ahead of Trinidad and Tobago and Bermuda. The team went unbeaten through all six matches, earning three wins and three draws, including a decisive 7–0 victory over Bermuda last week.

The island nation has a population of about 150,000 and is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It becomes the smallest team ever to qualify for the World Cup, surpassing Iceland, which held the record after reaching the 2018 tournament.

Curaçao will make its World Cup debut in 2026. The expanded tournament will be hosted across the United States, Mexico, and Canada and will feature 48 teams instead of the previous 32.

Curaçao will learn its group-stage opponents when the World Cup draw takes place on December 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., according to ESPN.