Where is Curacao?

Livano Comenencia scores for Curacao — Referee Jalal Jayed (C) and match officials prepare to warm up (Image credit: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Curacao have made history at the World Cup.

World Cup 2026 is the first in history for Curacao, with the minnows taking on Germany at the NRG Stadium in Houston – and even scoring against them.

But where even is the country?

Where is Curacao?

Curacao is a tiny country in the southern Caribbean Sea, around 40 miles north of Venezuela, and 50 miles southeast of Aruba, another territory within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Curacao is an island nation – but contains a much smaller, uninhabited island of Klein Curacao: which simply translates to “Little Curaçao”.

BOCA RATON, FLORIDA - JUNE 13: Tahith Chong #21 of Cura&ccedil;ao warms up during training of Curacao one day ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group E — Curacao warm up (Image credit: Getty Images)

To put the size of Curacao into context, there are just 155,000 citizens on the island, meaning that you could essentially fit the entire population into two World Cup stadiums.

Curacao was colonised by the Spanish in 1499, before the Netherlands took the nation in 1600s – and the island is still part of the Netherlands, with Dutch one of three official languages, which also includes English.

Not too many countries in this part of the world have English as an official language, with Guyana the only nation on mainland South America with English as an official language.

Curacao has an area of 171 square miles, meaning that it's smaller than Leeds, with just one player in the squad – Tahith Chong – born in the country itself.

Curacao's players pose for a team photo before the start of the World Cup qualifier football match between Jamaica and Curacao at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica on November 18, 2025. — Curacao are playing in their first World Cup (Image credit: RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)

It is speculated that the name ‘Curacao’ comes from the Spanish word ‘corazon’, meaning ‘heart’.

Will Curacao get out of their group? Leave your thoughts in the comments…

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Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.