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Aruba national football team facts for kids

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This page is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Aruba women's national football team.
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Aruba
Association Arubaanse Voetbal Bond
Confederation CONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederation CFU (Caribbean)
Head coach Marvic Bermúdez
Captain Nathan Lo-A-Njoe
Most caps Eric Abdul (32)
Top scorer Ronald Gómez
Terence Groothusen (6)
Home stadium Trinidad Stadium
FIFA code ARU
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 187 Steady (7 February 2019)
Highest 112 (November 2015)
Lowest 205 (April 2021)
Elo ranking
Current 198 Increase 1 (3 March 2019)
Highest 50 (1924)
Lowest 203 (April 2020)
First international
Aruba 0–4 Curaçao 
(Aruba; 6 April 1924)
As FIFA member
 Trinidad and Tobago 7–0 Aruba 
(Netherlands Antilles; 31 March 1989)
Biggest win
Aruba 8–1 Suriname Netherlands
(Surinam; 6 June 1946)
 Aruba 7–0 British Virgin Islands 
(Oranjestad, Aruba; 1 June 2014)
Biggest defeat
 Trinidad and Tobago 11–0 Aruba 
(Arima, Trinidad and Tobago; 23 April 1989)

The Aruba national football team (Dutch: Arubaans voetbalelftal; Papiamento: Seleccion Arubano di futbol) is the national team of Aruba. It was founded in 1932 and is affiliated with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), CONCACAF and FIFA (since 1988) and is controlled by the Arubaanse Voetbal Bond.

The team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup or the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

History

Between 1924 and 1933, Aruba only played against Curaçao, although these matches are not considered official. In the 1950s these matches were used to select the best players for the Netherlands Antilles team. Aruban players like Jani Brokke played for the Netherlands Antilles at the 1952 Olympic Games. Under the flag of the Curaçao Football Association (C.V.B.), they won gold with the Netherlands Antilles team at the 1950 Central American and Caribbean Games and participated in the 1953 CCCF Championship.

In the 1950s the A.V.B. organised friendly matches and mini tournaments on the island. Examples are the 1952 match between Aruba and football club Botafogo (3-1) and the 1953 series between Aruba, Surinam, British Guiana and professional club La Salle F.C. from Venezuela. Aruba participated in its first tournament at the 1955 CCCF Championship, where they finished in 5th place. In 1958, A.V.B. and C.V.B. merged into the Netherlands Antillean Football Union. Aruba took part in the Netherlands Antilles national football team until their secession in 1986.

Following its split from the Netherlands Antilles, the Aruba Football Federation was affiliated in 1988 with CONCACAF and FIFA. Aruba entered qualifying for the 1989 Caribbean Cup, and in its first group match it suffered the worst defeat in its history, at the hands of Trinidad and Tobago, which crushed them 11–0. They played their first World Cup qualifying match against the Dominican Republic as part of the 1998 World Cup qualifying. Aruba has participated in all the qualifying tournaments for the World Cup since, without being able to get past the first qualifying round.

Aruba has also yet to qualify for the Caribbean Cup. However, they showed some progress in the preliminary round of the 2014 Caribbean Cup by getting two wins against Turks and Caicos (1–0) and British Virgin Islands (7–0), the latter being the biggest victory in its history. These results allowed them to reach 120th place in the FIFA World Ranking for the month of June 2014, their best ranking to date. Following these victories, Aruba lost 2–0 against French Guiana and were eliminated.

Aruba began their 2018 World Cup qualification in the second round against Barbados, losing 2–0 at home and 1–0 away, however FIFA ruled that Barbados had fielded an ineligible player, giving Aruba a 3–0 second leg victory and advancing them to the third round. Despite that, in the next round they were defeated again, this time by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines who won 3–2 on aggregate. Aruba failed to progress in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, finishing 4th in the first round.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

      Win       Draw       Loss       Fixture

2023

2024

2025

Coaching history

  • Netherlands René Notten (1995)
  • Argentina Ángel Botta (1996)
  • Aruba Marco Rasmijn (2000)
  • Argentina Marcelo Muñoz (2004)
  • Netherlands Azing Griever (2004–2006)
  • Argentina Marcelo Muñoz (2008–2010)
  • Aruba Epi Albertus (2010–2012)
  • Netherlands Giovanni Franken (2013–2015)
  • Netherlands Rini Coolen (2015)
  • Netherlands Martin Koopman (2015–2020)
  • Aruba Marvic Bermúdez (2020)
  • Netherlands Stanley Menzo (2021–2022)
  • Aruba Marvic Bermúdez (2022–)

Players

Main article: List of Aruba international footballers

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League matches against United States Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands on 16 and 20 November 2023.

Caps and goals correct as of 20 November 2023, after the match against Cayman Islands.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Matthew Lentink (1993-08-18) 18 August 1993 (age 31) 12 0 Netherlands VV Goes
1GK Josthan Maduro (2006-08-30) 30 August 2006 (age 18) 1 0 Aruba River Plate
2DF Nickenson Paul (1997-08-24) 24 August 1997 (age 27) 25 0 Aruba SV Dakota
2DF Mark Jacobs (1999-10-28) 28 October 1999 (age 25) 14 0 Aruba RCA
2DF Fernando Lewis (1993-01-31) 31 January 1993 (age 31) 9 0 Netherlands OFC
2DF Diederick Luydens (1999-02-18) 18 February 1999 (age 25) 7 1 Netherlands SV DSO
2DF Jonathan Richard (1991-06-21) 21 June 1991 (age 33) 6 0 Netherlands ODIN '59
2DF Nathan Lo-A-Njoe (1989-03-01) 1 March 1989 (age 35) 4 0 Aruba RCA
2DF Kymani Nedd (2004-06-10) 10 June 2004 (age 20) 4 0 Netherlands Excelsior
2DF Marcus Portier (1999-08-11) 11 August 1999 (age 25) 2 0 Aruba RCA
3MF Walter Bennett (1997-03-18) 18 March 1997 (age 27) 14 0 Netherlands SC Feyenoord
3MF Glenbert Croes (2001-06-17) 17 June 2001 (age 23) 12 1 Aruba Nacional
3MF Stiven Rua (1990-05-12) 12 May 1990 (age 34) 11 0 Aruba Britannia
3MF Edward Clarissa (2000-03-26) 26 March 2000 (age 24) 7 0 Netherlands VV Maarssen
3MF Rovien Ostiana (2002-02-14) 14 February 2002 (age 22) 4 5 Netherlands Volendam
3MF Mishawn Molina (2005-01-16) 16 January 2005 (age 19) 3 1 Netherlands Excelsior
3MF Jaybrien Romano (2004-12-13) 13 December 2004 (age 19) 3 0 England Braintree Town
4FW Terence Groothusen (1996-09-16) 16 September 1996 (age 28) 15 6 Netherlands Sportlust '46
4FW Benjamin Maria (2001-09-19) 19 September 2001 (age 23) 8 3 Netherlands VV DUNO
4FW Daniel Linscheer (1994-01-21) 21 January 1994 (age 30) 7 0 Aruba RCA
4FW Jaydon Dania (2004-10-29) 29 October 2004 (age 20) 3 2 Netherlands AFC '34

Recent call-ups

The following players have been recently called up by the national squad.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Eric Abdul (1986-02-26) 26 February 1986 (age 38) 32 0 Aruba RCA vs.  Saint Kitts and Nevis, 26 March 2023
DF Darryl Bäly (1998-01-19) 19 January 1998 (age 26) 6 1 Netherlands OFC vs.  Cayman Islands, 11 September 2023
MF Gregor Breinburg (1991-09-16) 16 September 1991 (age 33) 16 2 Netherlands ADO Den Haag vs.  Saint Kitts and Nevis, 26 March 2023
MF Josh Gross (1993-05-13) 13 May 1993 (age 31) 13 2 Aruba Dakota vs.  Saint Kitts and Nevis, 26 March 2023
MF Jeamirr Howell (1992-11-16) 16 November 1992 (age 31) 5 0 Aruba RCA vs.  Saint Kitts and Nevis, 26 March 2023
MF Jayson Halman (1999-11-17) 17 November 1999 (age 24) 4 0 Netherlands VVSB vs.  Saint Kitts and Nevis, 26 March 2023
MF Franklin Lewis (1999-05-28) 28 May 1999 (age 25) 4 0 Netherlands Lisse vs.  Saint Kitts and Nevis, 26 March 2023
FW Pieter Susebeek (1992-02-20) 20 February 1992 (age 32) 3 0 Aruba Britannia vs.  U.S. Virgin Islands, 14 October 2023
FW Jeremy van Uunen (1993-10-28) 28 October 1993 (age 31) 1 0 Netherlands Westlandia vs.  U.S. Virgin Islands, 14 October 2023
FW Joshua John (1988-10-01) 1 October 1988 (age 36) 9 4 Netherlands AFC '34 vs.  Saint Kitts and Nevis, 26 March 2023
FW Rensel Bryson (2000-11-06) 6 November 2000 (age 24) 3 0 Netherlands Geldrop vs.  Saint Kitts and Nevis, 26 March 2023

Player records

Players in bold are still active with Aruba.

Most appearances

Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Eric Abdul 32 0 2011–present
2 Theric Ruiz 28 1 2004–2016
3 Erik Santos de Gouveia 27 3 2011–2021
4 Nickenson Paul 25 0 2014–present
5 Leroy Oehlers 24 0 2013–2019
6 Francois Croes 23 0 2008–2021
7 Ronald Gómez 22 6 2002–2021
8 Raymond Baten 21 3 2011–2019
9 Annuar Kock 17 3 2011–2019
10 Gregor Breinburg 16 2 2015–present

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Terence Groothusen 6 15 0.4 2019–present
Ronald Gómez 6 22 0.27 2002–2021
3 Rovien Ostiana 5 4 1.25 2023–present
Glenroy Lake 5 6 0.83 1995–2002
5 Wander Gross 4 5 0.8 2000–2001
Joshua John 4 9 0.44 2018–present
Dwaynalex Raven 4 10 0.4 2012–2015
Rensy Barradas 4 11 0.36 2011–2015
Maurice Escalona 4 12 0.33 2004–2014
10 Lesley Felomina 3 4 0.75 2000–2001
Benjamin Maria 3 8 0.38 2022–present
Jean-Luc Bergen 3 10 0.3 2011–2015
Annuar Kock 3 17 0.18 2011–2019
Raymond Baten 3 21 0.14 2011–2019
Erik Santos de Gouveia 3 27 0.11 2011–2021

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup Qualification
Year Result Position Pld W D* L F A Pld W D* L F A
1930 to 1986 Part of  Netherlands Antilles Part of  Netherlands Antilles
1990 and 1994 Did not enter Did not enter
France 1998 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 3 6
South Korea Japan 2002 4 1 1 2 7 11
Germany 2006 2 0 0 2 2 10
South Africa 2010 2 0 0 2 0 4
Brazil 2014 2 1 0 1 6 6
Russia 2018 4 2 0 2 5 5
Qatar 2022 4 1 0 3 3 19
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total 0/9 20 5 1 14 26 61

CONCACAF Gold Cup

CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
El Salvador 1963 Part of  Netherlands Antilles Part of  Netherlands Antilles
Guatemala 1965
Honduras 1967
Costa Rica 1969
Trinidad and Tobago 1971
Haiti 1973
Mexico 1977
Honduras 1981
1985
1989 Did not enter Did not enter
United States 1991
Mexico United States 1993 Withdrew Withdrew
United States 1996 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 5 7
United States 1998 2 1 0 1 2 7
United States 2000 3 1 1 1 4 4
United States 2002 3 0 0 3 4 14
Mexico United States 2003 2 0 0 2 0 8
United States 2005 Withdrew Withdrew
United States 2007 Did not enter Did not enter
United States 2009 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 1 3
United States 2011 Did not enter Did not enter
United States 2013 Did not qualify 3 0 1 2 5 7
Canada United States 2015 3 2 0 1 8 2
United States 2017 2 0 0 2 1 4
Costa Rica Jamaica United States 2019 4 1 1 2 5 6
United States 2021 6 0 0 6 5 18
Canada United States 2023 4 1 1 2 5 5
Total 0/18 34 6 5 23 38 85

CONCACAF Nations League

CONCACAF Nations League record
Season Division Group Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
United States 2019−20 B C 6 0 0 6 5 18 Fall 28th
United States 2022–23 C B 4 1 1 2 5 5 Same position 35th
Total 10 1 1 8 10 23 28th

CFU Caribbean Cup

CFU Championship & Caribbean Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Martinique 1988 Did not enter Did not enter
Barbados 1989 Did not qualify 4 0 0 4 4 27
Trinidad and Tobago 1990 2 0 1 1 3 4
Jamaica 1991 Did not enter Did not enter
Trinidad and Tobago 1992 Did not qualify 3 0 0 3 0 10
Jamaica 1993 Did not enter Did not enter
Trinidad and Tobago 1994
Cayman Islands Jamaica 1995 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 5 7
Trinidad and Tobago 1996 Did not enter Did not enter
Antigua and Barbuda Saint Kitts and Nevis 1997 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 2 7
Jamaica Trinidad and Tobago 1998 3 1 1 1 4 4
Trinidad and Tobago 1999 Withdrew Withdrew
Trinidad and Tobago 2001 Did not qualify 3 0 0 3 4 14
Barbados 2005 Withdrew Withdrew
Trinidad and Tobago 2007 Did not enter Did not enter
Jamaica 2008 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 1 3
Martinique 2010 Did not enter Did not enter
Antigua and Barbuda 2012 Did not qualify 3 0 1 2 5 7
Jamaica 2014 3 2 0 1 8 2
Martinique 2017 2 0 0 2 1 4
Total — — – – – – – – 29 4 4 21 37 89

ABCS Tournament

ABCS Tournament record
Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA
Curaçao 2010 Third place 2 0 1 1 3 6
Suriname 2011 Runners-up 2 0 2 0 2 2
Aruba 2012 Champions 2 2 0 0 4 2
Curaçao 2013 Fourth place 2 0 0 2 1 4
Suriname 2015 Runners-up 2 0 1 1 0 1
Curaçao 2021 Third place 2 0 1 1 3 9
Curaçao 2022 Third place 2 1 1 0 3 2
Total 1 Title 14 3 6 5 16 26
*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

Head-to-head record

Note: teams that are in italics indicates that the team is a historical team of a polity not existing anymore, or a team which is not a FIFA member.

As of 6 June 2021

These all-time records are exclusively class 'A' internationals matches.

Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD
 Antigua and Barbuda 5 0 0 5 4 11 −7
 Barbados 6 1 0 5 7 16 −9
 Bermuda 1 1 0 1 3 6 –3
 British Virgin Islands 1 1 0 0 7 0 +7
 Canada 1 0 0 1 0 7 –7
 Cayman Islands 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2
 Costa Rica 2 0 1 1 3 4 −1
 Cuba 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3
 Curaçao 3 1 1 1 3 4 −1
 Curaçao 22 0 8 14 19 47 −28
 Dominica 1 0 0 1 2 3 −1
 Dominican Republic 3 0 1 2 5 8 −3
 El Salvador 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2
 French Guiana 3 1 0 2 1 4 −3
 Grenada 2 0 0 2 3 7 −4
 Guadeloupe 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
 Guam 2 1 1 0 4 2 +2
 Guatemala 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
 Guyana 4 0 0 4 2 12 −10
 Haiti 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 Honduras 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 Jamaica 3 0 0 3 0 14 −14
 Montserrat 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2
 Netherlands Antilles 8 1 1 6 9 20 −11
 Panama 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
 Puerto Rico 2 1 1 0 6 4 +2
 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2
 Saint Lucia 3 1 0 2 8 9 −1
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2 1 0 1 2 3 −1
 Suriname 13 1 2 10 6 46 −40
 Trinidad and Tobago 1 0 0 1 0 11 −11
 Turks and Caicos Islands 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 Venezuela 2 0 0 2 1 6 −5
Total 91 12 21 63 102 234 −132

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Aruba para niños

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