Curaçao salvaged a 0-0 draw with Jamaica on Tuesday to become the smallest nation by population to qualify for a World Cup, and will be joined by CONCACAF sides Panama and Haiti, which also booked their spots.
Curaçao finished as the only undefeated nation in the tournament and finished atop Group B with 12 points to advance to the World Cup for the first time in its history.
Curaçao got the historic result it needed despite not having its coach, Dick Advocaat, on the bench. The 78-year-old Advocaat missed the crucial match because he had to return to the Netherlands last weekend for family reasons.
Advocaat was at the helm of the Netherlands national team for three stints and managed South Korea, Belgium and Russia before taking the job with Curacao.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics in Curaçao, the country has a population of 156,115 persons as of last January. Iceland, with a population of just over 350,000, was the smallest country to reach the World Cup when it qualified for the tournament in Russia in 2018.
Panama advanced to its second World Cup after defeating El Salvador 3-0 on first-half goals from César Blackman (17) and Erick Davis (45).
Jose Luis Rodriguez (85) added a goal for the Panamanians, who have Russia 2018 as their only World Cup appearance.
Panama finished as the best team in Group A with 12 points, while Suriname, which came into the last round leading the way on goal difference, lost 3-1 against Guatemala and finished in second place with nine points.
Haiti, a troubled Caribbean country, had a surprising campaign, winning Group C over favourites Honduras and Costa Rica after beating Nicaragua 2-0.
Loicious Deedson opened the scoring in the ninth minute, and Ruben Providence added a goal in the 45th. Haiti’s only previous trip to the World Cup was in Germany in 1974.
The Haitians finished with 11 points while Honduras had nine, and Costa Rica finished with seven.
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