Same Population As Mumbai's Kurla: Curacao Becomes Smallest Country To Qualify For FIFA World Cup
Curacao will now join Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan as a first-time participants in the upcoming 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Tiny Caribbean country Curacao is set to travel to North America in the summer of 2026, after having become the smallest country in terms of population to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
Located north of Venezuela, the island nation is home to about 1.56 lakh people - same as Mumbai's Kurla region, as per the latest estimates. This makes Curacao the smallest country to qualify for the World Cup, beating Iceland, which qualified for the 2018 World Cup with a population of roughly 3.35 lakhs.
Curacao's qualification came after the island nation finished top of their qualifying group, which consisted of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago as well as Bermuda.
In their most recent match, Curacao needed to avoid getting beaten by Jamaica, who were in the running for the top spot. The match ended in a goalless draw, much to the relief of Curacao.
Curacao will now join Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan as a first-time participants in the upcoming 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
This is thanks to a remodelled version of the World Cup, with 48 teams now set to participate for the first time ever, a shift from the traditional 32-team event that run between 1998 to 2022.
Curacao is managed by former Netherlands coach Dick Advocaat and despite the nation's size, they boast the services of some exciting players, including former Manchester United prodigy Tahith Chong and Middlesbrough new signing Sontje Hansen.
Borussia Dortmund youth prodigy Jordi Paulina, PSV Eindhoven centre-back Armando Obispo and former Rangers midfielder Juninho Bacuna are also part of the Curacao team, which is ranked 82th in the current FIFA rankings.
