The tiny Caribbean island of Curacao will become the smallest nation to ever play at the World Cup after drawing with Steve McClaren’s Jamaica to secure their place at the tournament.
The record was held by Iceland, who reached the 2018 finals, but their country is far bigger than Curacao, which has a population of just over 150,000 (similar to Cambridge or Huddersfield) and a land area of 171 square miles, smaller than the Isle of Man.
Former England manager McClaren resigned as Jamaica boss after his side, who needed a win in Kingston to qualify for their first World Cup since 1998, were held to a goalless draw, including having an injury-time penalty overruled by the video assistant referee (VAR).
And Curacao boss Dick Advocaat, who was not at the game for personal reasons, will become the oldest coach at a World Cup, aged 78, beating Otto Rehhagel’s record when he was in charge of Greece aged 71 in 2010.
Curacao, 37 miles off the Venezuela coast, only became a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2010, following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.
Ten years ago they were 150th in Fifa’s world rankings. Now they are 82nd.
