Curaçao, a small island nation in the Caribbean, has made headlines after qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Just days after their debut, Guinness World Records recognised Curaçao as the smallest country by population to ever qualify for this big football tournament.
On Tuesday, Guinness World Records gave the official certificate to Gilbert Martina, the President of the Curaçao Football Federation, in Houston, USA.
Curaçao has a population of only 156,115 people at the time they qualified. This beats the previous record held by Iceland, which had about 350,000 during its qualification in 2018.
In a statement, Guinness World Records said, "The smallest country (by population) to qualify for the football (soccer) FIFA World Cup is Curaçao, who had a population of 156,115 people when they qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Kingston, Jamaica, on 19 November 2025."
The island is managed by Dutchman Dick Advocaat. Curaçao finished at the top of their CONCACAF third-round qualifying group. They achieved three wins and three draws from their six matches.
Their journey to the World Cup was capped off with a 0, 0 draw against Jamaica on 19 November 2025. This result secured their spot in the upcoming tournament.
Curaçao played their first game in the World Cup on Sunday, June 14. Unfortunately, they lost 7, 1 at the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
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