The small Caribbean island of Curaçao became the smallest country in history to qualify for the World Cup, with Haiti qualifying for the first time in 52 years and Panama making their second appearance in three tournaments.
In a tense final match of a Concacaf qualifying campaign, Curaçao, with a population of just 156,000, drew 0-0 with Jamaica in Kingston, clinching a place in next year’s finals to be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Following this result, Steve McLaren was forced to resign as Jamaica’s national team coach, despite the team potentially qualifying for the World Cup via an intercontinental play-off.
Meanwhile, Haiti, which last participated in the World Cup in 1974, also achieved an unlikely breakthrough with a 2-0 victory over Nicaragua. Coincidentally, Haiti won a decisive qualifying victory in Curaçao, but the team was forced into a home qualifier due to unrest in its home country.
Meanwhile, Panama clinched another automatic berth with a 3-0 home win over El Salvador on Tuesday. This victory ended Suriname’s hopes of automatically qualifying. Suriname advanced to the playoffs despite losing 3-1 away to Guatemala.
Curaçao celebrated the historic result despite veteran Dutch coach Dick Advocaat being forced to miss the match due to family matters in the Netherlands. The team known as the Blue Wave finished top of Group B with 12 points from six games, one point behind Jamaica.
Curaçao is the smallest country in history to qualify for the World Cup, with participation expanding to 48 teams for the first time next year. The smallest country to ever qualify for the tournament was Iceland in 2018, with a population of about 350,000.
After a great finale at the National Stadium in Kingston, Curaçao finally secured a spot. Jamaica then launched a ferocious onslaught, aiming for a victory that would guarantee them a spot in the World Cup, even at the expense of their opponents.
Jamaica had three shots in the second half and came close to scoring in the 87th minute with a header from substitute Bayley Ty Cadamarteri, but it hit the post.
sign up for football daily
Start your night off with The Guardian’s take on the world of football
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may include information about charities, online advertising, and content sponsored by external parties. If you don’t have an account, create a guest account on theguardian.com to send this newsletter. You can complete your full registration at any time. For more information on how we use your data, please see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and are subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
After newsletter promotion
There was more drama in stoppage time when substitute Jeremy Antonis’ sliding tackle brought down Dujuan Richards in the area and Jamaica were awarded a penalty. El Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton pointed out leaving Curacao facing the prospect of a heartbreaking defeat. But after Curacao’s players protested, the decision was reviewed by a video assistant referee and dramatically overturned, sending the Caribbean islanders on their way to the World Cup.
Back in Curaçao, Haiti secured a return to the World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Nicaragua, with goals from Luisius Don Deedson and Ruben Providence. This result, combined with Honduras’ 0-0 draw with Costa Rica, puts Haiti at the top of Group C with 11 points from six games. Honduras finished in second place with nine points, but missed out on a spot in next year’s intercontinental playoffs due to goal difference with Suriname.
This will be Haiti’s second World Cup appearance. The team last competed in 1974, when they were eliminated in the first round, losing to Italy, Poland and Argentina.
