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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
Shirt badge/Association crest
Association Arubaanse Voetbal Bond (AVB)
Confederation CONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederation CFU (Caribbean)
Head coach Marvic Bermúdez
Captain Fernando Lewis
Most caps Eric Abdul (32)
Top scorer Rovien Ostiana (8)
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 is the official football team for the island of Aruba. It is also known as Arubaans voetbalelftal in Dutch and Seleccion Arubano di futbol in Papiamento.

The team was started in 1932. It is part of the CFU, CONCACAF, and FIFA. Aruba joined FIFA in 1988. The team is managed by the Arubaanse Voetbal Bond.

Aruba has never played in the FIFA World Cup or the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

History of Aruba Football

Between 1924 and 1933, Aruba mostly played against Curaçao. These early matches were not officially recognized. In the 1950s, these games helped choose the best players for the Netherlands Antilles team. Famous Aruban players like Jani Brokke even played in the 1952 Olympic Games for the Netherlands Antilles.

The Curaçao Football Association (C.V.B.) and the Netherlands Antilles team won gold at the 1950 Central American and Caribbean Games. They also took part in the 1953 CCCF Championship.

In the 1950s, the Aruba Football Federation (A.V.B.) set up friendly matches and small tournaments. For example, Aruba played against the famous Brazilian club Botafogo in 1952. They also played against teams from Surinam, British Guiana, and a professional club from Venezuela in 1953.

Aruba played in its first big tournament at the 1955 CCCF Championship, finishing in 5th place. In 1958, the A.V.B. joined with the Curaçao Football Association. They formed the Netherlands Antillean Football Union. Aruba's players were part of the Netherlands Antilles national football team until Aruba became separate in 1986.

After becoming independent from the Netherlands Antilles, the Aruba Football Federation joined CONCACAF and FIFA in 1988. Aruba entered the qualifiers for the 1989 Caribbean Cup. In their first match, they lost 11–0 to Trinidad and Tobago. This was their biggest loss ever.

Aruba played its first World Cup qualifying match against the Dominican Republic for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Since then, Aruba has tried to qualify for every World Cup. However, they have not yet made it past the first qualifying round.

Aruba has also not yet qualified for the Caribbean Cup. But they showed improvement in the 2014 Caribbean Cup preliminary round. They won two games against Turks and Caicos (1–0) and British Virgin Islands (7–0). The 7–0 win was their biggest victory in history. These wins helped Aruba reach their best-ever FIFA World Ranking of 120th in June 2014. After these victories, Aruba lost to French Guiana and was eliminated.

In the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Aruba played against Barbados. They lost both games, but FIFA later ruled that Barbados used a player who wasn't allowed to play. This changed Aruba's second game to a 3–0 win, letting them move to the next round. However, they then lost to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Aruba also did not move forward in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

In March 2025, Aruba played friendly matches in Southeast Asia. They faced Cambodia, which was their first Asian opponent since playing Guam in 2014.

Recent Matches

Here are some of Aruba's recent football match results.

      Win       Draw       Loss       Fixture

Matches in 2024

  • June 8, 2024: Aruba lost 0–2 to Curaçao in a World Cup qualifier.
  • June 11, 2024: Aruba drew 2–2 with Saint Lucia in a World Cup qualifier.
  • September 6, 2024: Aruba lost 2–0 to Sint Maarten in the CONCACAF Nations League.
  • September 9, 2024: Aruba lost 0–1 to Puerto Rico in the CONCACAF Nations League.
  • October 11, 2024: Aruba lost 1–3 to Haiti in the CONCACAF Nations League.
  • October 14, 2024: Aruba lost 3–5 to Haiti in the CONCACAF Nations League.
  • November 15, 2024: Aruba lost 1–5 to Puerto Rico in the CONCACAF Nations League.
  • November 18, 2024: Aruba lost 0–1 to Sint Maarten in the CONCACAF Nations League.

Matches in 2025

  • March 22, 2025: Aruba lost 1–3 to Visakha FC (Cambodia) in a friendly match.
  • March 25, 2025: Aruba won 2–1 against Cambodia in a friendly match.
  • June 4, 2025: Aruba drew 1–1 with Barbados in a World Cup qualifier.
  • June 7, 2025: Aruba lost 0–5 to Haiti in a World Cup qualifier.

Coaching History

Rini Coolen (2009)
Rini Coolen was the manager of the Aruba national football team in 2015.
  • 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

These players were chosen for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF second round matches in June 2025.

Numbers for games played (caps) and goals are correct as of June 4, 2025, after the match against Barbados.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Matthew Lentink (1993-08-18) 18 August 1993 (age 31) 21 0 Netherlands Goes
18 1GK Jahmani Eisden (2005-07-09) 9 July 2005 (age 20) 0 0 Netherlands Den Bosch
20 1GK Josthan Maduro (2006-08-30) 30 August 2006 (age 18) 1 0 Aruba Britannia
2 2DF Nickenson Paul (1997-08-24) 24 August 1997 (age 27) 35 0 Aruba Dakota
3 2DF Diederick Luydens (1999-02-18) 18 February 1999 (age 26) 12 2 Aruba Dakota
4 2DF Bradley Martis (1998-07-13) 13 July 1998 (age 27) 2 0 Netherlands IJsselmeervogels
5 2DF Kymani Nedd (2004-06-10) 10 June 2004 (age 21) 14 0 Netherlands Excelsior
12 2DF Edhyon Hersilia (2006-04-11) 11 April 2006 (age 19) 2 0 Aruba Britannia
17 2DF Jaybrien Romano (2004-12-13) 13 December 2004 (age 20) 5 0 Netherlands Den Bosch
2DF Jillroy Ruiz (1996-10-18) 18 October 1996 (age 28) 2 0 Netherlands RVVH
2DF Jonathan Richard (1991-06-21) 21 June 1991 (age 34) 8 0 Netherlands ADO '20
2DF Shivay Wadhwani (2005-07-03) 3 July 2005 (age 20) 5 0 Netherlands Zeeburgia
6 3MF Rovien Ostiana (2002-02-14) 14 February 2002 (age 23) 15 8 Netherlands RKAVV
7 3MF Dimaggio Senchi (1995-05-03) 3 May 1995 (age 30) 5 0 Netherlands AFC '34
8 3MF Walter Bennett (1997-03-18) 18 March 1997 (age 28) 25 2 Netherlands SC Feyenoord
20 3MF Isaï Marselia (2001-06-17) 17 June 2001 (age 24) 10 1 England Sporting Khalsa
3MF Steven Rua (1990-05-12) 12 May 1990 (age 35) 18 0 Aruba Britannia
9 4FW Terence Groothusen (1996-09-16) 16 September 1996 (age 28) 22 6 Netherlands ADO '20
11 4FW Javier Jiménez (2000-05-27) 27 May 2000 (age 25) 15 2 Germany Schwarz-Weiß Rehden
14 4FW Alljereau Mercera (2002-05-03) 3 May 2002 (age 23) 1 0 Netherlands Katwijk
19 4FW Nathan La Cruz (2006-05-09) 9 May 2006 (age 19) 0 0 Netherlands VVV-Venlo
22 4FW Benjamin Maria (2001-09-19) 19 September 2001 (age 23) 11 3 Netherlands VV DUNO
4FW Jayden Kruydenhof (2006-12-18) 18 December 2006 (age 18) 8 1 Netherlands Cambuur

Player Records

Players in bold are still playing for Aruba.

Most Games Played

Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Nickenson Paul 33 0 2014–present
2 Eric Abdul 32 0 2011–2023
3 Theric Ruiz 28 1 2004–2016
4 Erik Santos de Gouveia 27 3 2011–2021
5 Leroy Oehlers 24 0 2013–2019
6 Walter Bennett 23 1 2018–present
Francois Croes 23 0 2008–2021
8 Ronald Gómez 22 6 2002–2021
9 Raymond Baten 21 3 2011–2019
Matthew Lentink 21 0 2014–present

Top Goalscorers

Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Rovien Ostiana 7 13 0.54 2023–present
2 Terence Groothusen 6 20 0.3 2019–present
Ronald Gómez 6 22 0.27 2002–2021
4 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 10 0.3 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

Tournament Records

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest football tournament in the world. Teams from all over the globe try to qualify. Aruba has tried to qualify many times but has not yet made it to the main tournament.

FIFA World Cup Qualification
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D* L GF GA
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 4 0 2 2 3 10
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 To be determined To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total 0/9 24 5 3 16 29 71

CONCACAF Gold Cup

The CONCACAF Gold Cup is the main football competition for teams in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Aruba has not yet qualified for this tournament.

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
Canada United States 2025 6 0 0 6 5 17
Total 0/19 40 6 5 29 43 102

CONCACAF Nations League

The CONCACAF Nations League is a competition for national teams in North, Central America, and the Caribbean. Teams play in different leagues based on their ranking.

CONCACAF Nations League record
League Finals
Season Division Group Pld W D L GF GA P/R Finals Results Pld W D L GF GA Squad
2019−20 B C 6 0 0 6 5 18 Fall United States 2021 Ineligible
2022–23 C B 4 1 1 2 5 5 Same position United States 2023
2023–24 C B 4 4 0 0 14 4 Rise United States 2024
2024–25 B C 6 0 0 6 5 17 Fall United States 2025
2026–27 C To be determined 2027
Total — — 20 5 1 14 29 44 — Total 0 Titles — — — — — — —

CFU Caribbean Cup

The CFU Caribbean Cup was a football tournament for teams in the Caribbean region. Aruba has participated in the qualifiers but has not reached the main tournament.

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

The ABCS Tournament is a friendly football competition. It includes teams from Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, and Suriname. Aruba has won this tournament once.

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 Records

This table shows how Aruba has played against other national teams in official international matches. Teams in italics are historical teams or not FIFA members.

As of June 7, 2025

Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD Confederation
 Antigua and Barbuda 5 0 0 5 4 11 −7 CONCACAF
 Barbados 7 1 1 5 8 17 −9 CONCACAF
 Bermuda 2 1 0 1 3 6 –3 CONCACAF
 British Virgin Islands 1 1 0 0 7 0 +7 CONCACAF
 Cambodia 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 AFC
 Canada 1 0 0 1 0 7 –7 CONCACAF
 Cayman Islands 3 3 0 0 10 3 +7 CONCACAF
 Costa Rica 2 0 1 1 3 4 −1 CONCACAF
 Cuba 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3 CONCACAF
 Curaçao 28 1 9 16 22 53 −31 CONCACAF
 Dominica 1 0 0 1 2 3 −1 CONCACAF
 Dominican Republic 4 0 1 3 5 10 −5 CONCACAF
 El Salvador 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 CONCACAF
 French Guiana 3 1 0 2 1 4 −3 CONCACAF
 Grenada 2 0 0 2 3 7 −4 CONCACAF
 Guadeloupe 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 CONCACAF
 Guam 2 1 1 0 4 2 +2 AFC
 Guatemala 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 CONCACAF
 Guyana 4 0 0 4 2 12 −10 CONCACAF
 Haiti 4 0 1 3 5 14 –9 CONCACAF
 Honduras 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 CONCACAF
 Jamaica 3 0 0 3 0 14 −14 CONCACAF
 Montserrat 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 CONCACAF
 Netherlands Antilles 8 1 1 6 9 20 −11 CONCACAF
 Panama 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 CONCACAF
 Puerto Rico 4 1 1 2 7 10 –3 CONCACAF
 Saint Kitts and Nevis 3 0 0 3 2 7 −5 CONCACAF
 Saint Lucia 4 1 1 2 10 11 −1 CONCACAF
 Saint Martin 2 1 1 0 3 0 +3 CONCACAF
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2 1 0 1 2 3 −1 CONCACAF
 Sint Maarten 2 0 0 2 0 3 −3 CONCACAF
 Suriname 13 1 2 10 6 46 −40 CONCACAF
 Trinidad and Tobago 1 0 0 1 0 11 −11 CONCACAF
 Turks and Caicos Islands 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 CONCACAF
 U.S. Virgin Islands 2 2 0 0 7 2 +5 CONCACAF
 Venezuela 2 0 0 2 1 6 −5 CONMEBOL
Total 110 17 24 74 129 272 −143 FIFA

Honours

Friendly Tournaments

  • ABCS Tournament (1): 2012

See also

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

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