Qualification for the 2026 World Cup has thrown up some brilliant storylines.
Jordan, Uzbekistan, Cape Verde and Curacao will all debut in Canada, Mexico and the United States, Scotland and Norway will be at the tournament for the first time since 1998, while Haiti are appearing for the first time in over 50 years, and their manager has never even stepped foot in the country.
One of the more curious storylines is the fact there will be TWO Dutch sides at the 2026 World Cup. FourFourTwo explains how...
Why there will be TWO Dutch teams at the 2026 World Cup
The Netherlands ensured they would be at the World Cup with a 4-0 win over Lithuania in their final qualifying game.
The have history with the tournament, playing in three finals (1974, 1978 and 2010), but never winning it, and will be looking to end that streak in north America next summer.
They will be joined by another Dutch team at the tournament, with Curacao securing qualification for the first time ever.
Curacao is a autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, alongside Aruba, Sint Maarten, and the Netherlands itself.
This means they share the same head of state, the King of the Netherlands, but they have their own government and head of government. Dutch is still the official language of the country, though Papiamentu, English, and Spanish are widely spoken.
They have a population of just over 158,000 people, making it the smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup.
Willemstad, the capital city, has been described as the Amsterdam of the Caribbean, due to the similarity of the architecture and is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site.
Curacao became their own national football team recognised by FIFA and CONCACAF in 2010 following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles national football team. This consisted of Curacao, Bonaire and Aruba, with the latter splitting in 1986.
Several big name coaches have lead the Curacao national football team. Dick Advocaat is currently at the helm, but Guss Hiddink and Patrick Kluivert have both had stints in charge.
They achieved qualification by drawing 0-0 with Jamaica, ensuring they finished top of their group by one point. They didn't lose a single game in two rounds of qualification and will debut at the World Cup in 2026. Should they be drawn in the same group as the Netherlands, it would mark the first time the two countries have ever played each other (sort of).
