Curaçao appeared in the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2026. On 18 November 2025, they topped their qualifying group and qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, becoming the smallest nation by both population and area to qualify for the tournament.
Background Curaçao is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands with a population of about 156,000. Its national team is the sporting successor to the Netherlands Antilles national football team, whose records and FIFA ranking it inherited before adopting the Curaçao name in 2011. The team reached the World Cup largely through players of Curaçaoan descent who were born and developed in the Netherlands, an approach that broadened under former Netherlands striker Patrick Kluivert from 2015. Of the 26 players named for the 2026 finals, 25 were born in the Netherlands.
Overall record FIFA World Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition*as Territory of Curaçao 1930Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member 1934Did not enterDid not enter 1938 1950 1954 1958Did not qualify310247as 1962Did not qualify6222414 1966412123 1970410339 19745023419 1978200219 1982403112 1986201104 1990420247 1994201114 1998201112 2002201116 2006410348 2010421131as as 2014Did not qualify62131515 2018613256 20226321163 2026 Group stage 4th 3 0 1 2 1 910730285 2030To be determinedTo be determined 2034Total - 3 0 1 2 1 97623233094125 *Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
2026 FIFA World Cup
Curaçao were drawn in Group E alongside Germany, Ecuador and Ivory Coast, with their matches staged in Houston, Kansas City and Philadelphia. At the age of 78, Advocaat became the oldest manager to take charge of a match at a World Cup when the team opened against Germany.
Group stage
Goalscorers On 14 June 2026, Livano Comenencia scored the first-ever FIFA World Cup goal in the history of Curaçao, netting in the 21st minute of their opening match against Germany in Houston.
Player Goals 2026 Livano Comenencia 11 Total 1 1
Head-to-head record OpponentWin %Total
See also North, Central American and Caribbean nations at the FIFA World Cup Curaçao at the CONCACAF Gold Cup
References
Reports