BOGOTA, Colombia — Few stories capture the magic of next year’s FIFA World Cup like Curaçao — a small Caribbean nation that has defied history, geography and expectations to reach soccer’s biggest stage.
With 42 of the 48 spots for the 2026 World Cup now filled, the tournament is already shaping up to be historic, as several underdog nations have clinched qualification. While major teams from Europe, Africa and Asia — including Nigeria, China, India, Greece, Serbia and Hungary — failed to qualify, smaller countries have made headlines by earning places in the event jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Here are some of the minnows who have secured spots for 2026.
Curaçao
Until recently better known for its turquoise liqueur and beaches, Curaçao set a record by becoming the least populous country ever to reach the FIFA World Cup after a 0–0 draw with Jamaica. Home to roughly 150,000 people and located in the southern Caribbean off Venezuela, Curaçao surpassed Iceland as the smallest nation to qualify. As a point of comparison, next summer’s final will be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, which holds 82,500 — more than half of Curaçao’s population.
To overcome the limits of a small population, Curaçao has largely recruited players born in the Netherlands. The island became an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2010 after the Netherlands Antilles dissolved. “Curaçao, like quite a few examples of smaller nations, have been good at tapping into the diaspora, ringing anyone who might have a distant relative connected to their country,” said Carl Worswick, an independent sports journalist and soccer specialist.
Haiti
Haiti qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974, despite severe domestic challenges. The Caribbean nation faces an acute security and humanitarian crisis that has affected football infrastructure and training; gangs control much of Port-au-Prince, and the team has often been unable to train or play at home. Haiti’s coach since 2024, Frenchman Sebastien Migne, has never visited the country. Still, the squad completed an improbable campaign with a 2–0 win over Nicaragua, securing qualification in Curaçao — where they have been forced to stage home qualifiers because of unrest. For many Haitians, the result has been a rare source of hope. “This really came as a kind of unimaginable boon, morally, for the country,” said Harold Isaac, a Haitian journalist in Port-au-Prince.
Cape Verde
The Atlantic archipelago of Cape Verde qualified for the World Cup for the first time after beating Eswatini 3–0. With a population of about 600,000, Cape Verde had been the second-least populous country to reach the tournament before Curaçao’s qualification. Like other small nations, it has tapped its diaspora — the squad includes center-back Roberto Lopes, born in Ireland to a Cape Verdean father and Irish mother.
Panama
Panama will return to the World Cup after debuting in 2018. The Central American nation of roughly 4.5 million people beat El Salvador to clinch its spot. Panama finished bottom of its group in 2018 and will aim for redemption in 2026.
One factor helping several smaller CONCACAF nations qualify is that the tournament hosts — Canada, Mexico and the U.S. — automatically qualify, leaving additional slots for other regional teams to contest.
What’s next for the minnows?
Street parties and parades have celebrated qualifications, but reaching the World Cup is only the start. “I think everyone assumes that, brilliant, this can only be a good thing… but there is a lesson to be learned, it’s not always positive,” Worswick said, stressing the need for national football associations to invest in players and teams. High-profile financial and organizational scandals have sometimes marred World Cup debuts, and smaller federations face pressures around funding, preparation and managing heightened expectations.
For countries like Haiti, however, simply qualifying can be transformative. “The people are suffering and they’ve been suffering for years,” Isaac said. “They’re just asking for hope, and this is what the team brought them.”
