Two island nations that defied the odds to make football history
Singapore reach the Asian Cup for the first time on merit, while tiny Curacao will play at the World Cup
[SINGAPORE] Two sporting achievements stood out this week, both involving little island nations from opposite corners of the world that punched well above their weight.
Singapore and Curacao may be separated by a distance of more than 18,000 km, but these countries were united in euphoria as their men’s football teams accomplished monumental feats that will be remembered for a very long time.
On Tuesday (Nov 18) night at a packed Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong, Singapore secured the win they craved that sent the Lions to the 2027 Asian Cup – the first time they have done so on merit. (Singapore’s only other appearance at this competition was back in 1984 when they qualified automatically as the host nation.)
Just 12 hours later, at the National Stadium in the Jamaican capital Kingston, the tiny Caribbean island of Curacao defied the odds to secure the point they needed to reach next year’s Fifa World Cup. To put this achievement in context, Curacao played their first international fixture just 14 years ago in 2011, and their population of 156,000 is even smaller than Singapore’s Ang Mo Kio town.
Lions heading to Saudi Arabia
Many Singapore football fans are still rubbing their eyes in disbelief after watching the Lions recover from a losing position to Hong Kong to eventually win 2-1, thanks to goals from Shawal Anuar and second-half substitute Ilhan Fandi.
Those precious three points were enough to secure top spot in a group that also includes India and Bangladesh, with a game to spare. Singapore have now booked their place at the next Asian Cup, which will be held in Saudi Arabia from Jan 7 to Feb 5, 2027.
Perhaps what is even more surprising is that Singapore qualified ahead of their perennial South-east Asian rivals Thailand, who must win their final fixture against Turkmenistan in order to join them.
One could only imagine the sense of relief, pride and disbelief when Thai referee Sivakorn Pu-udom blew the final whistle at the Kai Tak Stadium. Many of the Singapore players and coaching staff, including 35-year-old interim coach Gavin Lee, were barely able to contain themselves.
The Lions came within a whisker of making the Asian Cup in 1996 and 2011, but flopped in their final qualifying matches. This time, however, they produced three spectacular performances away from home – single-goal victories over Bangladesh in Dhaka, India in Goa, and Hong Kong in Kowloon – to silence their critics in style.
Singapore can now look forward to rubbing shoulders with the continent’s best teams, including hosts Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Qatar. No matter who the Lions get in the group stage, they are already winners in the eyes of many.
‘Blue Wave’ off to North America
The 2026 World Cup will be held in three countries in North America – the United States, Canada and Mexico – and this beefed-up tournament will feature a total of 48 teams, the most in the tournament’s nearly century-long history.
One of those 48 is Curacao, which earned their place following a tense goalless draw with Jamaica that ensured they finished top of a tough qualifying group that also included Trinidad and Tobago as well as Bermuda.
Located about 55 km off the Venezuela coast, Curacao became a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2010, after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.
Curacao’s head coach Dick Advocaat is a familiar name in the sport. The 78-year-old had three stints with the Netherlands in the past, and he is poised to become the oldest coach at the World Cup finals, surpassing Otto Rehhagel who was 71 years old when he led Greece at the 2010 edition.
Speaking of the Netherlands, the majority of the Curacao squad were born there. Every single player who started the match against Jamaica on Wednesday were born in the Netherlands. Interestingly, the only player in the current squad who was actually born in Curacao is 25-year-old Tahith Chong, whose claim to fame was playing for Manchester United.
His teammates are far from being household names, but many of them have experience at the highest levels of the game. Defender Armando Obispo and striker Jurgen Locadia have played in the Champions League previously with PSV Eindhoven, while the Bacuna brothers, Juninho and Leandro, featured in the English Premier League with Huddersfield and Aston Villa respectively.
It is perhaps safe to say that Curacao will not be in the final stages of the World Cup, but the players and their fans will not care one bit. The mere fact that this plucky team nicknamed the “Blue Wave” will even take part in the world’s greatest football spectacle at all is enough to make anyone giddy with anticipation.
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