Nigeria missing as Curaçao makes history as smallest Nation by population to qualify for a World Cup

   Curaao salvaged a 0-0 draw against Jamaica on Tuesday night,  November 18 to become the smallest nation by population to qualify for a World Cup, an astonishing achievement that will see them joined by fellow CONCACAF sides Panama and Haiti.  Curaao finished the qualifying tournament as the only undefeated nation, topping Group B with a historic 12 points to advance to the World Cup for the first time. This comes as Nigeria, the seeming giant of Africa with a population of over 200 million people failed to qualify for next years tournament despite having better caliber of players and a higher football federation budget compared to Curaao. The result was secured despite the absence of coach Dick Advocaat, who missed the crucial match after having to return to the Netherlands over the weekend for family reasons.  The 78-year-old Advocaat previously led the Netherlands national team for three stints and managed South Korea, Belgium, and Russia before taking the job with Curaao.  According to the Central Bureau of Statistics in Curaao, the country has a population of 156,115 persons as of last January. This means they shatter the previous record held by Iceland, which had a population of just over 350,000 when it qualified for the tournament in Russia in 2018.  Panama advanced to its second World Cup after defeating El Salvador 3-0. First-half goals from Cesar Blackman in the 17th minute and Erick Davis in the 45th set the pace, with Jose Luis Rodriguez adding a late goal in the 85th minute for the Panamanians. Panama finished as the best team in Group A with 12 points, while Suriname lost 3-1 against Guatemala and finished in second place with nine points. Panama’s only previous World Cup appearance was Russia 2018.  Haiti also secured a spot after a surprising campaign that saw them win Group C over favorites Honduras and Costa Rica. They sealed their qualification by beating Nicaragua 2-1, with Loicious Deedson opening the scoring in the ninth minute and Ruben Providence adding a goal in the 45th. Haiti finished with 11 points, while Honduras had nine and Costa Rica finished with seven. Haitis only previous trip to the World Cup was in Germany in 1974.The post Nigeria missing as Curaao makes history as smallest Nation by population to qualify for a World Cup appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.