Curaçao Complete Fairytale With Battling Draw In Jamaica To Qualify For World Cup

The mini Caribbean federation of Curaçao became nan smallest state ever to suffice for nan World Cup arsenic Haiti booked their return to nan tourney for nan first clip successful 52 years on pinch Panama.

A nerve-shredding finale to nan Concacaf qualifying run saw Curaçao – pinch a organization of conscionable 156,000 – compression into adjacent year’s finals successful nan United States, Canada and Mexico pinch a 0-0 tie against Jamaica successful Kingston.

Haiti, meanwhile, who past appeared successful nan World Cup successful 1974, besides completed an improbable qualification run pinch a 2-0 triumph complete Nicaragua.

Ironically, Haiti secured their decisive qualification triumph successful Curaçao, wherever nan squad person been forced to play their location qualifiers owed to unrest successful their homeland.

Panama, meanwhile, grabbed nan different automatic qualification spot connected connection connected Tuesday pinch a 3-0 triumph complete El Salvador astatine home.

That triumph ended Suriname’s hopes of grabbing automatic qualification. Suriname, beaten 3-1 distant by Guatemala, nevertheless squeezed into nan playoff places.

Curacao's Roshon Van Eijma, successful nan air, fights for nan ball. Photograph: Collin Reid/AP

Curaçao, whose seasoned Dutch coach Dick Advocaat was forced to miss nan crippled owed to a family rumor successful nan Netherlands, were near celebrating a historical result.

The squad known arsenic “the Blue Wave” vanished apical of Group B pinch 12 points from six games, 1 constituent clear of Jamaica.

Curaçao are by acold nan smallest federation ever to suffice for nan World Cup, which is being expanded to 48 teams adjacent twelvemonth for nan first time.

The erstwhile smallest state to suffice for nan tourney were Iceland successful 2018, pinch a organization of astir 350,000.