Curaçao national football team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Curaçao

Nickname(s)	La Familia Azul La Pantera Negra La Pantera Azul
Association	Federashon Futbòl Kòrsou
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederation	CFU (Caribbean)
Head coach	Dick Advocaat
Captain	Cuco Martina
Most caps	Cuco Martina (65)
Top scorer	Rangelo Janga (21)
Home stadium	Stadion Ergilio Hato
FIFA code	CUW
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	NR (7 February 2019)
Highest	68 (July 2017)
Lowest	188 (December 2003)
Elo ranking
Current	125 17 (3 March 2019)
Highest	43 (5 March 1948)
Lowest	188 (25 October 2012)
First international
Dominican Republic 1–0 Curaçao  (San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic; 18 August 2011)
Biggest win
Curaçao 10–0 Grenada  (Willemstad, Curaçao; 10 September 2018)
Biggest defeat
Argentina 7–0 Curaçao  (Santiago del Estero, Argentina; 28 March 2023)
Gold Cup
Appearances	2 (first in 2017)
Best result	Quarter-finals (2019)
Medal record CFU Caribbean Cup Gold 2017 Martinique Team

The Curaçao national football team represents the island of Curaçao in international football games. The team is managed by the Curaçao Football Federation (FFK).

Curaçao became its own country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2010. Because of this change, the Curaçao national team started playing under its new status in 2011. Both FIFA and CONCACAF (the football organization for North and Central America and the Caribbean) see the Curaçao team as the direct follow-up to the older Curaçao (1921–1958) and the Netherlands Antilles national football teams.

History of Curaçao Football

The first football team named Curaçao started playing in 1924. Their first game was against Aruba, which they won 4–0.

In 1954, the area of Curaçao became the Netherlands Antilles. This new country included several islands like Aruba, Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten. The football team's name changed to the Netherlands Antilles national team, representing all these islands.

In 1986, Aruba became its own country, so Aruban players no longer played for the Netherlands Antilles team.

On October 10, 2010, the Netherlands Antilles split up. Curaçao and Sint Maarten became separate countries. The other islands became part of the Netherlands. Even though Curaçao is not a fully independent country, FIFA recognized it as the official successor to the Netherlands Antilles in March 2011. This means Curaçao took over the historical records and FIFA ranking of the Netherlands Antilles.

The new Curaçao national team played its first game on August 20, 2011, against the Dominican Republic. They lost that game 1–0.

A big moment for Curaçao happened during the qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. They beat Cuba based on the away goals rule, which means they scored more goals away from home.

Curaçao also had a great run in the 2017 Caribbean Cup. They beat Martinique 2–1 in the semi-finals. Then, they faced Jamaica, who had won the cup six times before. Curaçao won 2–1, winning their first-ever Caribbean Cup!

Recent Games

This section shows the results of recent matches and any upcoming games.

      Win       Draw       Loss       Fixture

2024 Matches

Friendly 21 March	Hull City	0–1	Curaçao	Antalya, Turkey
			Janga  35'	Stadium: Antalya Stadium

Friendly 24 March	Alanyaspor	2–2	Curaçao	Alanya, Turkey
	Silva  40' Sisto  76'		Margaritha  30' Bacuna  53'	Stadium: Alanya Oba Stadium

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 5 June	Curaçao	4–1	Barbados	Willemstad, Curaçao
19:30 UTC−4	Janga  25', 62', 86' (pen.) Kastaneer  90+2'	Report (FIFA) Report (CONCACAF)	Reid-Stephen  90+2' (pen.)	Stadium: Ergilio Hato Stadium Attendance: 4,254 Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 8 June	Aruba	0–2	Curaçao	Oranjestad, Aruba
21:00 UTC−4		https://www.fifa.com/en/match-centre/match/520/288301/288302/400017743?date=2024-06-09	Bacuna  58' Severina  90+6'	Stadium: Complejo Deportivo Guillermo Prospero Trinidad Referee: César Arturo Ramos (Mexico)

2024–25 Nations League 6 September	Saint Lucia	2–1	Curaçao	St. George's, Grenada
17:00 UTC−6	Arkell Jude-Boyd 24' Caniggia Elva 55'	https://www.concacaf.com/en/nations-league/game-details?matchid=740605	Joshua Brenet 63'	Stadium: Kirani James Athletic Stadium Referee: Ken Pennyfeather (Antigua and Barbuda)

2024–25 Nations League 9 September	Curaçao	4–0	Saint Martin	St. George's, Grenada
17:00 UTC−6	Juninho Bacuna 10' Gervane Kastaneer 13' Leandro Bacuna 48' Joshua Zimmerman 65'	https://www.concacaf.com/en/nations-league/game-details?matchid=740617		Stadium: Kirani James Athletic Stadium Referee: Jose Corporan (Dominican Republic)

2024–25 Nations League 11 October	Grenada	0–0	Curaçao	Gros Islet, Saint Lucia
17:00 UTC−6				Stadium: Daren Sammy Cricket Ground Referee: Jon Freemon (United States)

2024–25 Nations League 14 October	Curaçao	1–0	Grenada	Gros Islet, Saint Lucia
16:00 UTC−6	Juninho Bacuna 30'			Stadium: Daren Sammy Cricket Ground Referee: Christopher Mason (Jamaica)

2024–25 Nations League 15 November	Saint Martin	0–5	Curaçao	Willemstad, Curacao
16:30 UTC−6			Margaritha 24', 34', 54', 80' Juninho Bacuna 78' (pen.)	Stadium: Ergilio Hato Stadium Referee: Félix Mojica (Nicaragua)

2024–25 Nations League 18 November	Curaçao	4–1	Saint Lucia	Willemstad, Curacao
18:00 UTC−6	Kastaneer 27', 30' Bacuna 73', 79'		Charles 28'	Stadium: Ergilio Hato Stadium Referee: Fernando Hernández Gómez (Mexico)

Upcoming Matches (2025)

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 6 June	Curaçao	v	Saint Lucia

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 10 June	Haiti	v	Curaçao

Coaching Staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Dick Advocaat
Assistant coach	Cor Pot Giovanni Franken
Goalkeeper coach	Raymond Mulder
Fitness coach	Angelo Cijntje
Video Analist	Léon Hese
Doctor	Casper van Eijck
Press Officer	Kees Jansma
Team Manager	Wouter Jansen
Content Creator	Anouar Amrani

Coaching History

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

Players

Current Squad

The following 23 players were chosen for the 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League B games in November 2024.

Caps and goals are counted as of November 18, 2024, after the game against Saint Lucia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Eloy Room (captain)	(1989-02-06) 6 February 1989 (age 36)	56	0	Cercle Brugge
	1GK	Trevor Doornbusch	(1999-07-06) 6 July 1999 (age 25)	6	0	Unattached
	1GK	Nino Fancito	(2004-09-30) 30 September 2004 (age 20)	0	0	FC Eindhoven
	2DF	Juriën Gaari	(1993-12-23) 23 December 1993 (age 31)	45	1	Al Hazem
	2DF	Jurich Carolina	(1998-07-15) 15 July 1998 (age 26)	15	1	FK Borac
	2DF	Roshon van Eijma	(1998-06-09) 9 June 1998 (age 27)	14	0	RKC Waalwijk
	2DF	Sherel Floranus	(1998-08-23) 23 August 1998 (age 26)	13	0	PEC Zwolle
	2DF	Shanon Carmelia	(1989-03-20) 20 March 1989 (age 36)	38	2	Hercules
	2DF	Joshua Brenet	(1994-03-20) 20 March 1994 (age 31)	8	1	Al Rayyan
	2DF	Ar'jany Martha	(2003-09-04) 4 September 2003 (age 21)	4	0	Beerschot
	2DF	Tyrique Mercera	(2003-12-19) 19 December 2003 (age 21)	1	0	SC Cambuur
	3MF	Leandro Bacuna	(1991-08-21) 21 August 1991 (age 33)	57	15	FC Groningen
	3MF	Juninho Bacuna	(1997-08-07) 7 August 1997 (age 27)	35	11	Al Wehda FC
	3MF	Kevin Felida	(1999-11-11) 11 November 1999 (age 25)	16	0	RKC Waalwijk
	3MF	Godfried Roemeratoe	(1999-08-19) 19 August 1999 (age 25)	15	1	RKC Waalwijk
	3MF	Livano Comenencia	(2004-02-03) 3 February 2004 (age 21)	4	0	Juventus
	3MF	Brandley Kuwas	(1992-09-19) 19 September 1992 (age 32)	28	2	Volendam
	4FW	Kenji Gorré	(1994-09-29) 29 September 1994 (age 30)	26	3	Umm Salal
	4FW	Xander Severina	(2001-04-12) 12 April 2001 (age 24)	5	1	Maccabi Haifa
	4FW	Gervane Kastaneer	(1996-06-09) 9 June 1996 (age 29)	17	5	Unattached
	4FW	Jeremy Antonisse	(2002-03-29) 29 March 2002 (age 23)	12	1	Moreirense
	4FW	Joshua Zimmerman	(2001-05-23) 23 May 2001 (age 24)	9	1	Top Oss
	4FW	Jearl Margaritha	(2000-04-10) 10 April 2000 (age 25)	10	4	Phoenix Rising

Player Records

These tables show the players with the most games played and the most goals scored for Curaçao. Players in bold are still playing for the team.

Most Appearances

Cuco Martina has played the most games for Curaçao with 65 appearances.

Top Goalscorers

Rangelo Janga is Curaçao's top scorer with 21 goals.

Competitive Record

Curaçao has played in many football tournaments. Before 2011, the team played as the Territory of Curaçao (1921–1958) and then as the Netherlands Antilles (1958–2010). Since 2011, they play as Curaçao.

FIFA World Cup

Curaçao has not yet qualified for the FIFA World Cup.

FIFA World Cup
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
as Territory of Curaçao
1930	Not a FIFA member
1934	Did not enter
1938
1950
1954
1958	Did not qualify
as  Netherlands Antilles
1962	Did not qualify
1966
1970
1974									CONCACAF Championship
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
as  Curaçao
2014	Did not qualify
2018
2022
2026	To be determined
2030
2034
Total	-	0/21	-	-	-	-	-	-

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

CONCACAF Gold Cup

The CONCACAF Gold Cup is the main football competition for teams in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad
as  Netherlands Antilles
1963	Third place	3rd	8	5	0	3	14	9	Squad
1965	Fifth place	5th	5	0	2	3	4	16	Squad
1967	Did not qualify
1969	Third place	3rd	5	2	1	2	9	12	Squad
1971	Did not enter
1973	Sixth place	6th	5	0	2	3	4	19	Squad
1977	Did not qualify
1981
1985
1989
1991
1993	Did not enter
1996	Did not qualify
1998
2000
2002	Did not enter
2003	Did not qualify
2005	Withdrew
2007	Did not qualify
2009
as  Curaçao
2011	Did not qualify
2013
2015
2017	Group stage	11th	3	0	0	3	0	6	Squad
2019	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	2	3	Squad
2021	Withdrew
2023	Did not qualify
Total	Third place	6/27	30	8	6	16	33	65	—

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

CONCACAF Nations League

This is a newer competition for teams in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

CONCACAF Nations League record
Season	Division	Group	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R
2019–20	A	D	4	1	2	1	3	3
2022–23	A	C	4	1	0	3	2	8
2023–24	A	A	4	1	0	3	6	7
2024–25	B	B	6	4	1	1	15	4
Total	—	—	18	7	3	8	26	22	—

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

CFU Caribbean Cup

The Caribbean Cup was a football tournament for teams in the Caribbean. Curaçao won it once.

CFU Championship & Caribbean Cup record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad
as  Netherlands Antilles
1978	Did not qualify
1979	Did not enter
1981
1983	Did not qualify
1985	Did not enter
1988
1989	Group stage	2	0	2	0	2	2	-
1990	Did not qualify
1991
1992
1993	Did not enter
1994
1995	Did not qualify
1996
1997
1998	Group stage	3	0	0	3	2	9	-
1999	Did not qualify
2001	Did not enter
2005
2007	Did not qualify
2008
2010
as  Curaçao
2014	Group stage	3	0	0	3	5	10	Squad
2017	Champions	2	2	0	0	4	2	Squad
Total	Champions	10	2	2	6	13	23	-

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

ABCS Tournament

The ABCS Tournament is a friendly football competition between teams from Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, and Suriname.

ABCS Tournament
Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
2010	Runners-up	2	1	1	0	5	2
2011	Fourth place	2	0	0	2	1	5
2012	Third place	2	1	0	1	11	5
2013	Runners-up	2	1	0	1	3	3
2015	Third place	2	1	1	0	4	1
2021	Champions	2	2	0	0	8	1
2022	Champions	2	0	2	0	4	4
Total	Champions	14	6	4	4	36	21

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Team Records

Biggest Wins

• Largest win: 10–0 against  Grenada on September 10, 2018.
• Largest win at the CONCACAF Championship finals: 4–1 against Honduras on April 7, 1963.
• Largest win at the Caribbean Cup finals: 2–1 against Martinique on June 22, 2017, and 2–1 against Jamaica on June 25, 2017.
• Largest win at the ABCS Tournament: 9–2 against Bonaire on July 15, 2012.

Highest Scoring Draws

• 2–2 against Suriname on September 25, 2011 (Friendly).
• 2–2 against Haiti on October 11, 2011 (World Cup Qualifier).
• 2–2 against Puerto Rico on September 3, 2014 (Caribbean Cup Qualifier).
• Highest scoring draw at the ABCS Tournament: 2–2 against Suriname on October 31, 2010, and 2–2 against Aruba on November 24, 2022, and 2–2 against Suriname on November 26, 2022.

Biggest Defeats

• Largest defeat: 7–0 against Argentina on March 28, 2023 (Friendly).
• Largest defeat at the CONCACAF Gold Cup: 0–2 against  Jamaica on July 9, 2017; 0–2 against on July 13, 2017; and 0–2 against on July 17, 2017.
• Largest defeat at the Caribbean Cup finals: 4–1 against on November 15, 2014.
• Largest defeat at the ABCS Tournament: 3–1 against Bonaire on December 2, 2011, and 3–1 against Suriname on November 16, 2013. Also 2–0 against Suriname on December 4, 2011.

Honours

Major Competitions

Continental

• CONCACAF Championship/Gold Cup
  • Third place (2): 1963*, 1969*

Regional Competitions

• CCCF Championship¹
  • Runners-up (3): 1955, 1957, 1960*
  • Third place (1): 1941
• CFU Caribbean Cup
  • Champions (1): 2017
• Central American and Caribbean Games
  • Bronze medal (1): 1946

Friendly Competitions

• ABCS Tournament
  • Champions (2): 2021, 2022
  • Runners-up (2): 2010, 2013
  • Third place (2): 2012, 2015
• Four-Nations Tournament
  • Champions (1): 1944*
• Phillip Seaga Cup
  • Champions (1): 1963*
• Inter Expo Cup/Polar Cup
  • Champions (1): 2004*
  • Runners-up (2): 2006*, 2008*
• Parbo Bier Cup
  • Champions (1): 2004*
• King's Cup
  • Champions (1): 2019

* Trophies won as the Netherlands Antilles from December 16, 1946, to August 18, 2011.

1. According to FIFA rules, this was an official major competition organized by CCCF for national teams. It was the organization before CONCACAF and worked with FIFA from 1938 to 1961.

See also

In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Curazao para niños

• Territory of Curaçao national football team (1921–1958)
• Netherlands Antilles national football team (1958–2010)
• Aruba national football team
• Bonaire national football team
• Sint Maarten national football team
• Netherlands national football team