The Curacao World Cup 2026 squad are history makers.
Curacao will play at the finals for the first time at World Cup 2026 and they qualified in some style, winning all four games in their initial CONCACAF group stage and winning their second group above Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago.
Curacao’s journey to the World Cup has captured international attention. Curacao is a constituent country within the state of the Netherlands and the national team is benefiting from a FIFA rule change that enables the selection of players who represented the Netherlands at youth levels. The Dutch will be among the favourites but Curacao will have one of the most inexperienced squads at the tournament.
Bolstered by an array of Curacaoan-descended talent, the island nation will become the smallest country to have ever competed in the World Cup.
Dick Advocaat will lead the team as head coach, despite leaving his post earlier this year to focus on family matters. The well-travelled Dutchman will be the oldest boss at the Finals.
Leandro and Juninho Bacuna, both former Premier League players now playing in Turkey, are typical examples of the Curacao career path: the Groningen-born brothers Bacuna represented the Netherlands at Under-21 level but are senior Curacao internationals.
Leandro Bacuna is the national team’s captain and shares the honour of being his country’s most-capped player with veteran former Vitesse and PSV goalkeeper Eloy Room, who now plays in the United States after a spell without a club.
The Mood
Curacao arrive at this World Cup with the wide-eyed curiosity of a country experiencing the football limelight for the very first time. For a Caribbean island of barely 150,000 people – the smallest nation ever to qualify – just getting here is historic. The challenge now is to show they belong.
The Blue Wave’s rise over the past decade has been one of CONCACAF’s most fascinating stories. By recruiting players with Curaçaoan heritage developed in the Netherlands, the national team has raised its technical level.
Even so, topping group favourites Jamaica with a dramatic point in Kingston, surviving late woodwork hits and a VAR scare, was a seismic shock. Every goal scored at these finals will be another.
Squad
Curacao World Cup 2026 squad: the latest selection
- GK: Eloy Room (Miami FC)
- GK: Tyrick Bodak (Telstar)
- GK: Trevor Doornbusch (VVV-Venlo)
- DF: Shurandy Sambo (Sparta Rotterdam)
- DF: Jurien Gaari (Abha)
- DF: Roshon van Eijma (RKC Waalwijk)
- DF: Sherel Floranus (PEC Zwolle)
- DF: Deveron Fonville (NEC)
- DF: Armando Obispo (PSV)
- DF: Joshua Brenet (Kayserispor)
- DF: Riechedly Bazoer (Konyaspor)
- MF: Godfried Roemeratoe (RKC Waalwijk)
- MF: Juninho Bacuna (Gaziantep)
- MF: Livano Comenencia (Zurich)
- MF: Leandro Bacuna (Igdir)
- MF: Ar'jany Martha (Rotherham United)
- MF: Tyrese Noslin (Telstar)
- MF: Kevin Felida (Den Bosch)
- MF: Tahith Chong (Sheffield United)
- FW: Jurgen Locadia (Miami FC)
- FW: Jeremy Antonisse (Kifisia)
- FW: Sontje Hansen (Middlesbrough)
- FW: Kenji Gorre (Maccabi Haifa)
- FW: Jearl Margaritha (Beveren)
- FW: Brandley Kuwas (Volendam)
- FW: Gervane Kastaneer (Terengganu)
Fixtures
- June 14, 2026: Germany vs Curacao , NRG Stadium , Houston, United States
- June 21, 2026: Ecuador vs Curacao , Arrowhead Stadium , Kansas City, United States
- June 25, 2026: Curacao vs Ivory Coast , Lincoln Financial Field , Philadelphia, United States
Recent Results
- June 7, 2026: Curacao 4-0 Aruba , Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad, Curacao
- May 30, 2026: Scotland 4-1 Curacao , Hampden Park, Glasgow, United Kingdom
- March 31, 2026: Australia 5-1 Curacao , AAMI Park, Melbourne, Australia
- March 27, 2026: China 2-0 Curacao , Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia
- November 18, 2025: Jamaica 0-0 Curacao , Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica
- November 13, 2025: Bermuda 0-7 Curacao , National Stadium, Devonshire, Bermuda
- October 14, 2025: Curacao 1-1 Trinidad and Tobago , Stadion Ergilio Hato, Willemstad, Curacao
- October 10, 2025: Curacao 2-0 Jamaica , Stadion Ergilio Hato, Willemstad, Curacao
- September 09, 2025: Curacao 3-2 Bermuda , Stadion Ergilio Hato, Willemstad, Curacao
- September 05, 2025: Trinidad and Tobago 0-0 Curacao , Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad
- June 24, 2025: Honduras 2-1 Curacao , Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, United States
- June 21, 2025: Curacao 1-1 Canada , State Farm Stadium, Glendale, United States
- June 17, 2025: Curacao 0-0 El Salvador , NRG Stadium, Houston, United States
- June 10, 2025: Haiti 1-5 Curacao , Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti
- June 06, 2025: Curacao 4-0 Saint Lucia , Stadion Ergilio Hato, Willemstad, Curacao
- March 19, 2025: Kazakhstan 2-0 Curacao , Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey
Group E standings
Curacao are in Group E at World Cup 2026.
Manager
Who is Curacao's manager?
Sixty-three-year-old Fred Rutten was appointed as the successor to Dick Advocaat after the former Netherlands boss sadly had to step down at the start of 2026 - but Advocaat is back in the dugout.
He has managed two different countries at the World Cup and this will be his third, having previously led the Dutch and South Korean teams.
Star player
Who is Curacao's star player?
Links with the Netherlands means there are familiar names dotted throughout the Curacao squad but it’s captain Leandro Bacuna who’s been at the forefront of the new wave of the Blue Wave.
The verstaile 34-year-old is Curacao’s second-highest goalscorer and has been keeping his shooting boots primed since moving to Bandirmaspor in the summer of 2025.
Bacuna played in England and Wales in between two stints with home-town club Groningen, making more than 100 league appearances for both Aston Villa and Cardiff City as well as playing for Reading and Watford in the Championship.
