Curaçao at the FIFA World Cup
International football delegation
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Curaçao appeared in the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2026.[1] 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.[2][3][4]
Background
Curaçao is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands with a population of about 156,000.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6][7]
Overall record
| FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
as  Territory of Curaçao |
as Territory of Curaçao | |||||||||||||||
 1930 |
Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | ||||||||||||||
 1934 |
Did not enter | Did not enter | ||||||||||||||
 1938 | ||||||||||||||||
 1950 | ||||||||||||||||
 1954 | ||||||||||||||||
 1958 | Did not qualify | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | |||||||||
as  Netherlands Antilles |
as Netherlands Antilles | |||||||||||||||
 1962 | Did not qualify | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 | |||||||||
 1966 |
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||
 1970 |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | ||||||||||
 1974 |
5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 19 | ||||||||||
 1978 |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||||||||||
 1982 |
4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 1986 |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||||||||||
 1990 |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | ||||||||||
 1994 |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||
 1998 |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
  2002 |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||||
| 2006 |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||||||||||
 2010 |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||||||||||
as  Curaçao |
as Curaçao | |||||||||||||||
 2014 | Did not qualify | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 15 | |||||||||
 2018 |
6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||||
 2022 |
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 3 | ||||||||||
 2026 |
Group stage | TBD | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 5 | ||
  2030 |
To be determined | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
 2034 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | - | 1/23 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 76 | 23 | 23 | 30 | 94 | 125 | ||
- *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.[8] 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.[9]
Group stage
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 6[a] | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 |  Ivory Coast |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6[a] | |
| 3 |  Ecuador |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Curaçao |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 1 |
Notes:
- Head-to-head result: Germany 2–1 Ivory Coast.
| Curaçao | 0–2 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
| [Report 3] |
|
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.[10][11]
| Player | Goals | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Livano Comenencia | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 |