Following a goalless draw away to Jamaica, Curaçao secured top spot in CONCACAF Group B with three wins and three draws, thereby qualifying for the FIFA World Cup finals for the first time in their history!
This island, with a population under 160,000 and an area of 444 square kilometres, has simultaneously broken two World Cup records: the smallest participating nation by area, surpassing Cape Verde's previous record of 4,033 square kilometres set during the last international break – Curaçao is nearly one-tenth the size of Cape Verde; and the smallest participating nation by population, surpassing Iceland's 2018 World Cup record of 300,000.
Curaçao is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, geographically situated at the southern end of the Caribbean Sea within the Lesser Antilles.
Curaçao currently holds 82nd place in the FIFA World Rankings, with former Netherlands national team manager Guus Hiddink at the helm. All 24 players in Curaçao's squad were born in the Netherlands, with 15 having represented Dutch youth teams.
Curaçao thus becomes the fourth newcomer to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in North America, following Uzbekistan, Jordan and Cape Verde.