Island minnows

Caribbean nation Curacao will be the smallest country to ever take part at the World Cup finals

- Lasana Liburd

Just two decades ago, when the Netherlands Antillean Football Union (NAVU) president Rignaal Francisca declared his goal to take the islands to the World Cup, there was sniggering around the room. How could tiny islands without professional footballers, they asked, possibly make such a breakthrough? A lot has happened since – starting with Curacao receiving autonomy from the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2010, as the NAVU gave way to the Curacao Football Federation.

Former Netherlands and Ajax striker Patrick Kluivert (whose mother is from Curacao) played a key role too. He took over as national team head coach in 2015 and convinced the likes of current captain Leandro Bacuna and goalkeeper Eloy Room – both second-generation Curacaoans, born in the Netherlands – to join him.

A decade later, as the “Blue Wave” progressed from Kluivert to Remko Bicenti to Guus Hiddink to Dick Advocaat to now Fred Rutten, Curacao are preparing for a historic World Cup debut against Germany on June 14.

It is likely that only one member of the Curacao team that travels to the United States in June will have been born on the island: former Manchester United player Tahith Chong. But natives rebuff any suggestion that the Blue Wave is a band of mercenaries. For decades, Curacaoans have headed to Europe for better opportunities in education and employment, but the island has a close emotional link with its diaspora, who frequently return to visit family or holiday. For Bacuna and his teammates, football provides an avenue to give back to their spiritual homeland.

So how will Curacao measure up at the elite level?

The Blue Wave have rarely played nations outside their continent – so the pre-tournament friendly against Scotland should test their adaptability and help settle any nerves, just as March’s FIFA Series with China and Australia did. They should not be overawed by the task ahead.