Curaçao — a small island nation with a population of 150,000. Why does it stand on the World Cup stage?

After talking about Germany, we also need to talk about Curaçao properly. Because the story behind this team is truly inspiring—if you don’t watch, you’ll regret it.

Curaçao is an autonomous kingdom within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the Caribbean region. Its total land area is only 444 square kilometers, and its population is just about 158,000. Do you know what that means? It’s roughly the size of a district in Taipei City, and its population is less than one-tenth of Taichung City’s. They became the participating team in World Cup history with the smallest population and the smallest land area. Previously, these two records were held by Iceland (about 300,000 people) and Cape Verde (4,033 square kilometers). Curaçao shattered both records at once—and did it with a dramatic leap.

So how does a country this small qualify for the World Cup? Curaçao’s football culture is very special. Most of their players have Dutch heritage or have backgrounds in the Netherlands. In this World Cup’s final roster, out of 26 players, 25 were born in the Netherlands. Because Curaçao is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, many Curaçaoan players grew up in the Netherlands’ youth training system from a young age; and even some have played in the Eredivisie.

The head coach is well-known figure Dick Advocaat, at the age of 74. He has led multiple national teams, including the Netherlands, South Korea, and Russia. The team captain is veteran midfielder Leandro Bacuna, 34, who has played in the English Premier League for Aston Villa and Cardiff City. There’s also former Manchester United prodigy Tahith Chong, as well as Chinese-descended player Chen Dayi, whose ancestral home is in Guangdong.

To be honest, Curaçao’s strength is indeed the weakest in Group E. Placed in the same group as Germany, Ecuador, and Ivory Coast, for Curaçao, every match is an opportunity to learn. But the fact that they even made it to the World Cup is already a miracle. On the stage of the USA–Canada–Mexico World Cup, they are not here to win—they’re here to let the world get to know Curaçao.

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