KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) \u2014 0The tiny Caribbean island country Cura\u00e7ao will go to the 2026 World Cup as the smallest nation by population ever to qualify for the marquee event in men\u2019s soccer.<\/p>\n
Cura\u00e7ao, an autonomous territory of about 156,000 people within the Netherlands kingdom, takes the record of Iceland, with a population of just over 350,000,<\/a> which was the previous smallest country to reach the World Cup when it qualified for Russia 2018.<\/p>\n A team relying heavily on players born and raised in the Netherlands rode its luck Tuesday to take a 0-0 draw in Jamaica and finish top of a four-team group. Its other opponents were Trinidad and Tobago and last-place Bermuda.<\/p>\n Cura\u00e7ao has actively recruited from its diaspora, getting permission from FIFA within world soccer\u2019s rules to change the national-team eligibility of five players, since August, who once represented the Netherlands at youth or Under-21 level.<\/p>\n Defender Joshua Brenet even played a World Cup qualifying game for the Netherlands in 2016. <\/p>\n Tahith Chong, a former Manchester United youth player, is one of the few squad members born in Cura\u00e7ao, which was called Netherlands Antilles until getting its autonomy 15 years ago. <\/p>\n A storied Dutch coach has led Cura\u00e7ao on to the elite stage for the first expanded 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n Haiti scored a decisive victory against Nicaragua on Tuesday, securing a place in the 2026 Soccer World Cup. (AP\/ Pierre Luxama)<\/p>\n Dick Advocaat<\/a>, at age 78, is set to lead his third team at a World Cup, and his second in the U.S. He took his native Netherlands to the quarterfinals at the 1994 edition and coached South Korea at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.<\/p>\n Cura\u00e7ao\u2019s adventure is set to put players from unheralded clubs on the biggest stage. The squad that clinched qualification included players from Rotherham in England\u2019s third-tier league, Band\u0131rmaspor in the Turkish second division and Abha in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n Cura\u00e7ao got the historic result despite not having Advocaat on the bench. He missed the match in Jamaica because he had to return to the Netherlands last weekend for family reasons.<\/p>\n His team rode its luck in Kingston as Jamaica struck the woodwork three times in the second half. A potentially decisive penalty kick awarded to the home team in stoppage time was overturned after a video review.<\/p>\n Cura\u00e7ao will be joined by regional neighbors Panama and Haiti, which also booked their World Cup spots Tuesday.<\/p>\n Panama advanced to its second World Cup after defeating El Salvador 3-0 on first-half goals from C\u00e9sar Blackman and Erick Davis, plus Jose Luis Rodriguez late in the game.<\/p>\n Panama\u2019s only previous World Cup appearance was in 2018. It overtook Suriname, another Dutch-influenced team, which started play atop the group before losing 3-1 against Guatemala.<\/p>\n