Curaçao and other small nations make Fifa World Cup history : NPR

BOGOTA, Colombia – Few stories capture the magic of next year’s FIFA World Cup quite like that of Curaçao – a small Caribbean country that has defied history, geography and every expectation to reach the biggest stage in global football.

With 42 of the 48 spots to compete at the 2026 World Cup now filled, the tournament is already shaping up to be a historic one, with many other weaker nations defying the odds to play in the event co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada next summer.

While several major European, African and Asian football teams, including Nigeria, China, India, Greece, Serbia and Hungary, failed to qualify, a number of smaller nations made global headlines by securing their places at next summer’s competition, some for the first time.

From Curaçao to Cape Verde, here’s a look at some of the veteran players who have made it to the 2026 World Cup

Curacao

Until now, the small Caribbean nation of Curaçao was known more for its turquoise-blue wines and sun-soaked beaches than its football feats. But after drawing 0-0 with Jamaica on Tuesday, the former Dutch colony set a historic record by becoming the least populous nation to reach the FIFA World Cup.

roughly home 150,000 people and located in the southern Caribbean near the coast of Venezuela – it has overtaken Iceland as the smallest country to compete in the world’s most prestigious football tournament.

As a point of comparison, the World Cup final will be played next summer MetLife Stadium in New JerseyWhich has a capacity of 82,500 – more than half the population of Curaçao.

To overcome the limitations of having a small population, the Dutch Caribbean country Curaçao has recruited mostly Netherlands-born players for its World Cup squad. The country became an autonomous region within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2010 following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.

Carl Worswick, an independent sports journalist and football expert, said, “Like some examples of small countries, Curaçao has been good at attracting expatriates and calling up any distant relatives with ties to the country.”

haiti

Another underdog to reach the international tournament is Haiti, who qualified for the first time since 1974 despite many obstacles at domestic level; The Caribbean nation is facing a serious security and humanitarian crisis that has affected every sector of society, including football players.

“They are living the crisis to the fullest… They have not been able to train or play in Haiti for years because of gang violence,” said Harold Isaacs, a Haitian journalist based in Port-au-Prince.

Haiti’s coach since 2024, Frenchman Sébastien Migne, has never been to the country where gangs control 90% of the capital city Port-au-Prince.

According to Isaac, given the turmoil many Haitians are grappling with, World Cup qualification is a ray of hope: “It has really come as an unimaginable boon morally for the country.”

Cape Verde

Cape Verde, a small Atlantic archipelago off the coast of West Africa, qualified for the World Cup for the first time last month when it beat southern African nation Eswatini 3-0. Before Curaçao qualified, Cape Verde was the second-least populous nation to reach the World Cup, with a population of approximately 600,000.

The former Portuguese colony has also recruited its own diaspora, its squad notably including centre-back Roberto Lopes, who was born in Ireland to an Irish mother and Cape Verdean father.

panama

Another small nation, Panama, will return to the World Cup after its 2018 debut in the tournament.

The Central American country with a population of 45 million made its place in the competition by defeating El Salvador on Tuesday. In 2018, Panama finished bottom of their group with zero points and will now have a chance for redemption.

A major reason for many of the smaller countries in the Americas qualifying for the tournament is that Canada, Mexico, and the United States are hosting it. As hosts, these countries automatically qualify, creating more scope for other countries in the North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football Confederation to win spots.

What’s next for Maino?

While social media is filled with videos of street parties and parades as countries celebrate their qualification, the road to the World Cup is still long.

Football expert Worswick said, “I think everyone recognizes that, fantastic, it can only be a good thing… but a lesson can be learned, it’s not always positive.”

He stressed the importance of national football associations investing money in their players and teams, citing high-profile scandals that have marred some countries’ World Cup debuts. Worswick explained that qualifying for the World Cup puts a country on the map, but it also often brings complex issues related to team finances, preparation and domestic pressure.

But for countries like Haiti, just qualifying may be enough: “People are suffering and they’ve been suffering for years,” Isaacs says, “and they’re just asking for hope, and that’s what this team brings to them.”