Haiti return to World Cup after 50 years as Curacao make history as smallest nation to qualify
Haiti secured their place at the FIFA World Cup for only the second time in history after defeating Nicaragua 2–0 at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad on Tuesday.
Louicius Deedson opened the scoring in the eighth minute, and Ruben Providence added a second in first-half stoppage time, sealing Haiti’s first World Cup appearance since 1974, News.Az reports.
In a historic achievement, Curacao became the smallest nation ever to qualify for a World Cup finals after a hard-fought 0–0 draw against Jamaica on the final day of CONCACAF qualifying. With a population of just 156,115 and a land area of 444 square kilometers, the Caribbean island surpassed Iceland’s previous record set in 2018.
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Curacao finished the qualifying campaign unbeaten, topping Group B with 12 points and producing a standout 7–0 victory over Bermuda. Managed by former Premier League and Netherlands national team coach Dick Advocaat—who missed the Jamaica match due to personal reasons—the team delivered a consistent, disciplined run to secure their historic berth.
Panama and Haiti also clinched qualification on a tense final day in a region where the host nations—the United States, Mexico and Canada—had already qualified automatically for the 2026 World Cup.
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