Curaao, with a population of just over158,000and a land area of 444km, qualified for the World Cup when they drew 0-0 with Jamaica last November in Kingston.

The Blue Wave as Curaao are nicknamed will play their first match at the tournament against Germany, a country of 84 million people and one of the competition's most established sides.

Germany appeared at two of the three World Cups held before the second world war. Following their ban from the 1950 competition in Brazil, German squads have been ever-present.

Curaao, situated some 65km north of Venezuela, played their first international in August 2011 against Dominican Republic. For 50 years before that, Curaaoans featured internationally as part of a Netherlands Antilles team.

Moment of history

Their players will walk out on 14 June onto the field atNRG Stadiumin Houston, Texas.

"No matter which team we are playing, it's exciting,"said Curaaocoach Dick Advocaat after the World Cup draw ceremony in December.

"It's good for the island and it's good for the players."

Curaao will also play Ecuador atArrowhead Stadiumin Kansas City before finishing their Group E campaign againstCote d'Ivoireat Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

"It's the first time that Curaao will play in this big tournament," added Advocaat. "We are a very hard-working team, the kind of team that is always difficult to play against."

Sense of joy

The squad announcement on 18 May was accompanied by a video posted on social media in which the football federation described it as "not just a squad announcement ... a whole vibe."

Dutch-born Leandro Bacuna, who plays for Igdir FK in Turkey, will captain the 26-man squad, which includes players from European and American leagues.

Their place at the tournament came through qualifying from theConcacafregion, which covers 41 nations across North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Curaao began their campaign with a 4-1 win over Barbados in June 2024, followed by victories against Aruba, Saint Lucia and Haiti. That took them through to the final Concacaf qualifying round, where they were drawn in a group with Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Bermuda.

In September 2025, they drew 0-0 with Trinidad and Tobago before winning 3-2 at home against Bermuda.

On 10 October, Curaao beat Jamaica 2-0 to go top of the group after three games.

Four days later, they lost that advantage. A 1-1 draw at home with Trinidad and Tobago, combined with Jamaica's 4-0 win over Bermuda, left Jamaica top on nine points after four games.

Jamaica's subsequent 1-1 draw with Trinidad and Tobago, and Curaao's 7-0 win over Bermuda, set up a deciding final game in Kingston.

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On 6 June, Curaao played Aruba in a warm-up friendly at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in the capital, Willemstad.

The federation described the match as "a moment in history" ahead of "an unprecedented journey to the Fifa World Cup", adding that the island would "celebrate, support, and send our team off" before the tournament begins.

Originally published on RFI