The sensation is perfect: Curaçao has qualified for the World Cup. Haiti and Panama are also there.
A 0-0 is often differentiated into one of the better and the worse sorts. For a small Caribbean island, a 0-0 draw will remain the best result in its football history.
Curaçao played 0-0 against Jamaica and qualified for the World Cup for the first time.
The island has around 156,000 inhabitants, as many as Heidelberg or Paderborn. There are 50 cities in Germany that are larger in terms of population. Never before has a country as small as Curaçao qualified for a World Cup, which will be held in 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico with 48 participants. Until now, Iceland, with around 330,000 inhabitants, was considered the smallest World Cup participant at the 2018 World Cup.
Coach Dick Advocaat missed Curaçao’s success because the Dutchman had traveled to his homeland for family reasons. It is the 78-year-old coach’s third World Cup participation, after 1994 with the Netherlands and 2006 with South Korea.
Politically, Curaçao belongs to the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Curaçao, like St. Martin and Aruba, belongs to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. However, it does not belong to the European Union (EU) or the Schengen area, and has the status of an overseas country and territory associated with the EU.
Estimates suggest that several hundred thousand people with roots in Curaçao live in the Netherlands.
All of the players in the squad for the match in Jamaica were born in the Netherlands, many of whom play for clubs in the Eredivisie.
However, there are also players without a club, such as Jordi Paulina. The center forward, who came on as a substitute in Jamaica, plays for Borussia Dortmund II in the Regionalliga West.
McClaren resigns
Jamaica coach Steve McClaren announced his resignation after the game. “It is the coach’s responsibility to lead the way, take responsibility and make decisions in the best interests of the team so that they can move forward,” said the 64-year-old former England coach: “After considerable consideration and an honest assessment of our current situation and goals, I have decided to step down as head coach.”
Haiti qualified in Germany for the first time since 1974
In addition to Curaçao, two other CONCACAF teams also secured their ticket to the World Cup. Panama secured its second World Cup participation after 2018 with a 3-0 win against El Salvador.
Haiti won Group C with a 2-1 win against Nicaragua and beat the favored teams from Honduras and Costa Rica. The only World Cup participation in Haiti’s history so far was the 1974 World Cup in Germany.
CONCACAF, the continental association from North and Central America and the Caribbean, is sending two participants, Guatemala and Suriname, into the playoffs.