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Curaçao made history when they salvaged a 0-0 draw against Jamaica on Tuesday.
For the first time ever, they qualified for the World Cup. They also became the smallest nation by population size to ever qualify for a World Cup.
They finished as the lone undefeated nation in the qualifying tournament and finished atop Group B with 12 points. They achieved history despite not having head coach Dick Advocaat on the bench.
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Curaçao players celebrate qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a soccer match against Jamaica. The match took place in Kingston, Jamaica, on Nov. 18, 2025. (Collin Reid/AP Photo)
Advocaat missed the match because he was in the Netherlands for family reasons.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics in Curaçao, the country has a population of 156,115 people as of last January. Prior to Curaçao breaking the record, Iceland previously held the title of the smallest nation to ever make the World Cup.
When Iceland made the World Cup in 2018, their population was 352,000. Cape Verde, which, like Curaçao, qualified for the World Cup for the first time in the nation’s history, has the third-smallest population size of any competing nation.
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A Curaçao team member celebrates qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a soccer match against Jamaica in Kingston, Jamaica, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (Collin Reid/AP Photo)
Curaçao players celebrate qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a soccer match against Jamaica. The match took place in Kingston, Jamaica, on Nov. 18, 2025. (Collin Reid/AP Photo)
Here is a list of the 10 smallest nations by population size to ever compete in the World Cup:
- Curaçao, 2026 World Cup, population: 156,115
- Iceland, 2018 World Cup, population: 352,000
- Cape Verde, 2026 World Cup, population: 525,000
- Trinidad and Tobago, 2006 World Cup, population: 1.3 million
- Northern Ireland, 1958 World Cup, population: 1.4 million
- Paraguay, 1950 World Cup, population: 1.5 million
- Kuwait, 1982 World Cup, population: 1.7 million
- United Arab Emirates, 1990 World Cup, population: 1.9 million
- Slovenia, 2002 World Cup, population: 2 million
- Uruguay, 1950 World Cup, population: 2.2 million
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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