Only just over 156,000 people live in Curaçao, but that was enough to make it all the way to the World Cup for the small island in the Caribbean.
Previously, Iceland, with its 350,000 inhabitants, was the smallest country to have played in the World Cup when it qualified for the tournament in Russia in 2018.
Curaçao made it despite the absence of Dutch national team captain Dick Advocaat, 78. He missed the match for family reasons.
Haiti is also confirmed as a participant in the World Cup after a 2-0 victory against Nicaragua on Wednesday night Swedish time. The same applies to Panama, who secured their World Cup place after a 3-0 win against El Salvador.
The World Cup will be played in Mexico, the United States and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
A total of 48 national football teams will be allowed to play in the Men's World Cup in the summer of 2026 – 42 places are booked:
Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia.
Africa: Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Senegal.
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay.
North and Central America and the Caribbean: USA, Mexico, Canada (host nations), Haiti, Panama, Curaçao (debutant).
Oceania: New Zealand.
Europe: England, France, Croatia, Portugal, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Scotland.
16 European countries will play a playoff in March for four World Cup spots.
Six national teams from Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania, North and Central America and the Caribbean will compete in an intercontinental playoff for two World Cup places in March.
