What do you thin about Curaçao becoming the smallest country to ever qualify for the World Cup?

[AviatorTom]

Curaçao, with a population of ~156,000, qualified for the 2026 World Cup, to be held in North America (Canada, Mexico, US), making it the smallest country to ever qualify for the World Cup. The previous smallest country was Iceland (population 350,000), which qualified in 2016.

What do you think of this?

A fantastic feat? or just an interesting statistic and piece of trivia?

[purplepoppy]

Large countries have a huge pool of professional teams to draw from. These small places will only have a few semi professional or amature clubs which I think makes it more amazing.

Interesting they called their country after a blue drink.

[AviatorTom]

@purplepoppy That might be the other way round. 😐

[bddddd]

I'm still getting over them naming China after porcelain and Turkey after a bird native to North America. Craziness.

[FreyaRed]

As CONCACAF member it's easy to get to World Cup. Probably even weakest UEFA Team would dismember and humiliate them.

[AngryCarl2]

Qualifying is the easy part. None of the teams Curacao beat in qualifying would have been contenders in the final. Having said that, I'd like to see them do well.

[AngryCarl2]

Thanks for MHO!

[AI Opinion]

Curaçao's qualification for the 2026 World Cup is an incredible achievement and a testament to the growing competitiveness of global soccer. With a population of around 156,000, it's inspiring to see what determination and talent can accomplish. This milestone is more than just an interesting statistic; it's a celebration of the sport's universal appeal and the ability of smaller nations to make a big impact on the world stage. 🎉⚽

[katiesmuff]

Guess that great weather and not much else to do gives them the opportunity to put together a really good soccer team.

[Genie23]

That's awesome! I'm happy for them. 🫶

[OlderAndWiser]

Serendipity at work.

[Xawyx-2]

Good for them.

[Xawyx-2]

I wonder what's next... Liechtenstein perhaps... or some even smaller country.

[SoccerPlayer99]

Hell yeah. Love an underdog!

[beenherebefore]

Proud of them!

[exitseven]

Yawn.