{"id":480223,"date":"2025-11-18T19:18:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T20:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=480223"},"modified":"2025-11-18T22:19:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T22:19:54","slug":"coach-who-snubbed-socceroos-on-path-for-world-cup-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=480223","title":{"rendered":"Coach who snubbed Socceroos on path for World Cup history"},"content":{"rendered":"

A\ufeff 90-minute battle against Jamaica is all that separates the Caribbean island nation of Curacao from making history and competing against the world's best football<\/a> nations.<\/p>\n

With a population of roughly 150,000, just shy of the population of Cairns, \ufeffCuracao has made a statement throughout the qualifying stages, sitting first in their World Cup<\/a> qualifying group with just one match to go.<\/p>\n

A 7-0 win over Bermuda cemented their place atop the group with 11 points, while Jamaica sits second with 10. \ufeffA win or a draw would see direct qualification secured.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Sickening Katoa incident takes sad turn as Storm get clarity<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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READ MORE:<\/strong> Chappell warns selectors against 'stupid' Marnus idea<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Curacao is hopeful that historic qualification will happen on Wednesday, with a loss meaning that Jamaica will leapfrog them and steal the ticket to the World Cup.<\/p>\n

If that match ends in a draw or victory for Curacao, the nation will surpass Iceland to become the smallest ever country by population to qualify for the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Cape Verde made history just a month ago when they secured direct qualification for next year's tournament, being the second-smallest country by population to qualify. \ufeff<\/p>\n

\"Sherel<\/p>\n

It is a remarkable achievement for Curacao to be in frame for World Cup qualification, given that ten years ago they were 150th on the world rankings. Now, they are 82nd.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\ufeffLocated just off the coast of Venezuela and a constituent country of the Netherlands, Curacao is known for its vibrant coral reefs and beaches.<\/p>\n

The island is so small that many football fans would be unfamiliar with an individual who was born in the nation, aside \ufefffrom any member of the current national team.<\/p>\n

Football's<\/strong><\/em> new home, Stan Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, is the only place to watch the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FA Cup, WSL, European World Cup qualifiers, J.League, NSWL and K League<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In fact, \ufeffthe country is not even represented at the Olympic Games as it is not a sovereign nation. Therefore, its athletes have to compete as Independent Olympic athletes or represent the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

But one man who would be familiar to some Australian fans is the team's head coach, who was previously involved with the Socceroos over 15 years ago. \ufeff<\/p>\n

\"Curacao<\/p>\n

Dick Advocaat, head coach of Curacao, backflipped on his contract to become the next Socceroos coach in 2007 to remain at club level with Zenit St Petersburg in Russia.<\/p>\n

That contract saga unfolded just \ufefftwo months out from the first match of the World Cup qualifiers at the time, leaving Australia without a head coach.<\/p>\n

At the time, Advocaat declared that he was simply offered a deal too good to turn down with the Russian team, which ultimately lead to his exit for the Socceroos. \ufeff<\/p>\n

Eventually, Dutch manager Pim Verbeek\ufeff took over the Socceroos.<\/p>\n

\ufeffAdvocaat, 78, was appointed head coach of the Curacao national team last January, but will not be present during Wednesday's match to see the team potentially make history.<\/p>\n

\"Curacao<\/p>\n

As per a statement from the team, Advocaat has been forced to leave the team to return home to the Netherlands due to family reasons.<\/p>\n

"It's bad news for us, but we understand that family is always a priority," Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room told Dutch television network NOS.<\/p>\n

"The coach doesn't have to worry, we will give everything against Jamaica."<\/p>\n

Jamaica has faced Curacao four times since their first meeting in 2017.<\/p>\n

The two teams last faced each other in October this year, where Curacao achieved a 2-0 victory at home.<\/p>\n

Curacao will \ufefflook to secure World Cup qualification on Wednesday, with the match kicking off at 11am AEDT.<\/p>\n

See which nations have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup below.<\/p>\n

\ufeffCONCACAF [North \/ Central America and the Caribbean]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Canada, Mexico and United States\ufeff [host nations].<\/p>\n

UEFA [Europe]<\/strong><\/p>\n

England, France and Croatia\ufeff.<\/p>\n

CONMEBOL [South America]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay\ufeff.<\/p>\n

CAF [Africa]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia\ufeff.<\/p>\n

AFC [Asia]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Japan, Australia, Iran, Jordan, Korea Republic, Uzbekistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia\ufeff.<\/p>\n

OFC [Oceania]<\/strong><\/p>\n

New Zealand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A\ufeff 90-minute battle against Jamaica is all that separates the Caribbean island nation of Curacao from making history and competing against the world's best football […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":480225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480223"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=480223"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":480229,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480223\/revisions\/480229"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/480225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=480223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=480223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=480223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}