A true national celebration erupted. And the fans had all reasons to be proud: Curaçao is the smallest nation ever, by both population and area, to qualify for the tournament.

Curaçao is an island in the Southern Caribbean Sea, around 70 kilometres off the coast of Venezuela. It’s 444km2 big and has an estimated population of 158,000 . Willemstad is the capital, and the official languages spoken are Papiamento (main language) and Dutch.

How come they speak Dutch in the Caribbean?

Curaçao is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, just like Aruba and St Maarten. In the same region, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba are special municipalities. Together they are called Caribbean Netherlands.

Let’s dive into a little bit of history. Curaçao became Dutch in 1634, when the Dutch West India Company (WIC) conquered the island from the Spanish. The Netherlands sought a strategic port for salt production in the Caribbean. It was the start of more than 300 years of slavery in the region. Enslaved adults and children from Africa were brought to the Caribbean and forced to work under harsh conditions.

Nationaal monument Curacao slavery
Credit: Kattiel, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

In 1863, slavery officially came to an end in the Dutch territories. The abolition of slavery did not mean the end of the colonial era. It was 1942, when Dutch Queen Wilhelmina announced that the overseas territories would be granted greater autonomy.

This was finally definitively agreed upon in the Statute for the Kingdom of the Netherlands (1954). In 2010, Curaçao and Sint Maarten chose to become independent countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, just like Aruba did in 1986.

On 19 December 2022, it was Prime Minister Mark Rutte – now Secretary General of NATO – who apologised for the past actions of the Dutch government. The apology was extended to all people who were sold into slavery and suffered therefore, as well as to their children, grandchildren and all their descendants, up to the present day.

Football frenzy caused by ‘The Blue Wave’

Back to football. Curaçao qualified for the FIFA World Cup by finishing first in Group B (Jamaica, Bermuda and Trinidad Tobago). Since this historic event, a football fever has gripped the island. “’When we started here, there were 100 people. Now there are 10,000. That is such a huge change,” said coach Dick Advocaat after the decider against Jamaica. The national team now even has a nickname: ‘The Blue Wave’ – referring to its blue jersey.

I’ve always said that family comes before football

Since his historic success, Dick Advocaat – who previously coached the Netherlands, South-Korea, Belgium and Russia, became very popular in Curaçao. However, in February, he resigned due to his daughter being seriously ill.

“I’ve always said that family comes before football,” said Mr. Advocaat in an official statement released by Curaçao’s National Football Team. “But of course, that doesn’t change the fact that I am going to miss Curaçao, the people there, and my colleagues very much.”

“I consider the qualification of the smallest FIFA country in the world for the World Cup as one of the highlights of my career,” Mr. Advocaat continued in the statement. “I am proud of my players and staff and the board members who believed in us.”

World Cup Curacao Advocaat
Curacao head coach Dick Advocaat watches from the sideline during the first half of a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match against El Salvador, on June 17, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. Source: AP / Godofredo A. Vasquez/AP

The return of the success coach

Fellow Dutchie Fred Rutten was appointed as Mr. Advocaat’s replacement, but he was unsuccessful in his first matches as national coach: Curaçao lost their friendly matches to China (2-0) and Australia (5-1).

In recent weeks, the call for the return of their success coach became louder. Players, and main sponsor, demanded that Mr. Advocaat should lead the team again. Meanwhile, it had become clear that Mr. Advocaat’s daughter’s health is improving, and that the coach would be interested in returning. Sponsor Corendon even threatened to end their sponsorship after the World Cup, if Dick Advocaat would not return.

Last Monday, the Federation announced in a statement on social media platform X that Fred Rutten had stepped down. “The Federashon Futbol Korsou (FFK) announced that Fred Rutten has decided to step down as head coach of the Curaçao national team following constructive discussions with the federation’s leadership.”

The statement continues; “Although Rutten himself was not the subject of the discussions, he chose to resign to protect stability and healthy professional relationships within the squad and staff.”

They were delighted with the news that, despite all the turmoil, Dick Advocaat is back.

From then on, it was just a matter of time. On Tuesday, the team got what they asked for; Dick Advocaat will coach them through the World Cup. “They were delighted with the news that, despite all the turmoil, Dick Advocaat is back. They have built a certain chemistry over two and a half years”, said Gilbert Martina, the president of the Curaçao Football Association to Dutch broadcaster NOS.

Fun fact: at the age of 78, Mr. Advocaat will now become the oldest coach ever in World Cup history. Yesterday, he announced his squad for the tournament.

Challenging task

Curaçao faces a challenging task at the World Cup. Being part of Group E, it will play Germany, Ecuador and Ivory Coast. But that doesn’t bother the people of Curaçao; the fact that their country is making its debut during the World Cup in America, Canada and Mexico, is enough to celebrate.

The first match in Group E is Germany – Curaçao. Monday 15 June, kick-off 3AM AEST. Watch this match and every other match live and free on SBS and SBS On Demand.