Curaçao clinched a spot in the 2026 World Cup on a wild final night of Concacaf qualification, becoming the smallest nation (since World War II) to qualify for international soccer's biggest event.

With a population of about 156,000 people, the Caribbean island – a constituent country of the Netherlands – is less than half the size of Iceland (352,000), whose qualification in 2018 set the previous record.

“It’s an impossibility that is made possible,” winger Kenji Gorré told The Guardian. “It’s literally impossible for such a small island, such a small 150,000 population, and now to go to the biggest pinnacle of football is unbelievable.”

Cape Verde, the African country also making its World Cup debut in 2026, has a population of 525,000, making it the third-smallest nation to ever qualify after Curaçao and Iceland. Until 2018, Trinidad & Tobago (1.3 million) had been the tournament's least-populous participant, setting that mark in 2006.

Here's a look at the 10 smallest countries to qualify for a World Cup finals:

Smallest countries to qualify for World Cup

Post World War II, teams only included once (via TransferMarkt)

  1. Curaçao (2026) – 156,000
  2. Iceland (2018) – 352,000
  3. Cape Verde (2026) – 525,000
  4. Trinidad & Tobago (2006) – 1.3 million
  5. Northern Ireland (1958) – 1.4 million
  6. Paraguay (1950) – 1.5 million
  7. Kuwait (1982) – 1.7 million
  8. United Arab Emirates (1990) – 1.9 million
  9. Slovenia (2002) – 2 million
  10. Uruguay (1950) – 2.2 million

Curaçao population

The nation of Curaçao has a population of about 156,000. Located in the southern Caribbean just north of Venezuela's coast, Curaçao became an autonomous territory in 2010 within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Curaçao becomes smallest country to ever qualify for World Cup: See top 10

Reporting by Jesse Yomtov, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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