Tiny Curaçao have no World Cup fears

With all 48 teams now qualified for the 2026 World Cup, excitement is building for the 37-day tournament, which kicks off in Mexico on June 11.

There will be 103 matches leading up to the World Cup final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.

Curaçao will become the smallest nation to play at a World Cup, in population (about 156,000) and land area (171 sq miles) and head coach Fred Rutten is looking forward to the challenge. “The excitement is already there,” the 63-year-old says. “You wake up with it and you go to bed with it.” The record was held by Iceland, who reached the 2018 finals, whose population is about 350,000.

Rutten’s first game in charge ended in a 2-0 defeat to China at the

Accor Stadium in Sydney two weeks ago. Then they lost 5-1 to Australia in another friendly.

Nevertheless, optimism is high. They are a well drilled side and will have no fear in Group E against Germany, Ecuador and Ivory Coast. With Curaçao part of the kingdom of the Netherlands, where many of the squad were born, the federation’s almost exclusive use of Dutch coaches for more than 10 years is no shock.

Curaçao qualified after drawing with Steve McClaren’s Jamaica to secure their place at the tournament. Sadly, Jamaica missed their final chance to qualify after losing 1-0 to DR Congo in a World Cup playoff last week.

Former England manager McClaren resigned as Jamaica boss after his side, who needed a win in Kingston to qualify for their first World Cup since 1998, were held to a goalless draw, including having an injury-time penalty overruled by the video assistant referee (VAR).

Curaçao, 37 miles off the Venezuela coast, were 150th in FIFA’s world rankings ten years ago. Now they are 82nd.

Meanwhile, Neymar faces a potential 12-game ban after making a contentious remark about a referee, which could affect his World Cup chances.

The Brazilian superstar has not featured for his country since 2023 after struggling for form and fitness, but still remains hopeful of making it to the USA, Canada and Mexico tournament.

He was left out of Carlo Ancelotti’s recent squad for international fixtures before naming his final 26-man group for the summer showpiece.

World Cup key dates

• Group stage: June 11-27

• Round of 32: June 28 to July 3

• Round of 16: July 4-7

• Quarter-finals: July 9-11

• Semi-finals: July 14-15

• Third-place play-off (‘Bronze final’): July 18

• Final: July 19