The Curaçao national football team ( nl, Curaçaos voetbalelftal;

Papiamentu Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; nl, Papiaments) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao), with official status in Aruba ...

: ''Selekshon di Futbòl Kòrsou'') represents Curaçao in

International International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

football and is controlled by the

Curaçao Football Federation Curaçao Football Federation ( pap, Federashon Futbòl Kòrsou, FFK) is the football association of Curaçao. It is the legal successor of the Netherlands Antillean Football Union, which ended with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 20 ...

(Federashon Futbòl Kòrsou; FFK). Following a constitutional change that allowed its predecessor, the

Colony of Curaçao and Dependencies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

to become a unified constituent country consisting of several island territories as the Netherlands Antilles and its dissolution in 2010, Curaçao has played under a new constitutional status as a separate constituent country since 2011. Both FIFA and CONCACAF recognize the Curaçao national team to be the direct and sole successor of the dependant Curaçao (1921–1958) and the Netherlands Antilles national football teams.

History

The first national football team to bear the name Curaçao was the Territory of Curaçao national football team, which made its debut in 1924 in an away match against neighboring Aruba, a match which the Territory of Curaçao won four to nil. In December 1954, the territory of Curaçao became the Netherlands Antilles, and following a constitutional change the Netherlands Antilles were designated a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which included the islands of Aruba, Bonaire,

Saba Saba may refer to: Places * Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea * Şaba (Romanian for Shabo), a town of the Odesa Oblast, Ukraine * Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras * Saba (river), ...

, Sint Eustatius and

Sint Maarten Sint Maarten () is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. With a population of 41,486 as of January 2019 on an area of , it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the nort ...

. The name of the Curaçao team changed to Netherlands Antilles national team, representing all six islands. In 1986, Aruba became a country within the Kingdom in its own right, with its own Aruba national team and subsequently Aruban players no longer represented the Netherlands Antilles. On 10 October 2010, the Netherlands Antilles were dissolved, and Curaçao and

became countries in their own right, while Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius became part of the Netherlands proper. Although not a

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined te ...

, Curaçao (the largest island territory in the Netherlands Antilles) appeared on the FIFA member list in March 2011, as successor of the Netherlands Antilles. As well as taking on the Netherlands Antilles' FIFA membership, Curaçao was recognised as the direct successor of the former (similarly to how

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

is regarded the direct successor of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

for the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

), and took on its historical records and FIFA ranking. They played their first match as the newly formed Curaçao national team on 20 August 2011 against

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

at the Estadio Panamericano, with the match ending in a 1–0 loss for Curaçao. During the CONCACAF Qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Curaçao achieved a major feat when they defeated Cuba 1–1 with the away goals rule. After a strong qualification campaign, Curaçao defeated host

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

in the semi finals of the

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

edition of the

Caribbean Cup The Caribbean Cup was the championship tournament for national association football teams that are members of the Caribbean Football Union. The first competition, established by Shell and run by former England Cricket fast bowler Fred Rumsey, wa ...

with the score of 2–1. They met defending champions and six-time winners,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. Curaçao won their first ever Caribbean Cup by defeating Jamaica, again with the scoreline of 2–1.

Coaching history

:Caretaker manager are listed in ''italics''. * Manuel Bilches (2011–12) * Ludwig Alberto (2012–14) * '' Igemar Pieternella'' (2014) * Etienne Siliee (2014–15) *

Patrick Kluivert Patrick Stephan Kluivert (; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch former football player, coach and sporting director. He played as a striker, most notably for AFC Ajax, FC Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. He was part of Ajax's Golden Gen ...

(2015–16) * Remko Bicentini (2016–20) * Guus Hiddink (2020–21) * ''

'' (2021) *

Art Langeler Art Langeler (born 16 August 1970) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. Playing career Langeler started playing football with SP Lochem. At U19 level, he moved to De Graafschap. After playing for a year in the U21 team, he ...

(2022) * Remko Bicentini (2022–present)

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players are called up for the

friendly matches An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against on 24 and 27 September 2022. ''Caps and goals as of 24 September 2022, after the match against .''

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last twelve months. ^RET Player retired from the national team.
^SUS Player is serving suspension.
^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
^PRE Preliminary squad.
^WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.
Notes: * Caps do not include matches played for the former Netherlands Antilles, but solely appearances for the thereout subsequent country of Curaçao.

Player records

:''Players in bold are still active with Curaçao''.

Most appearances

Most goals

Competitive record

All competitive matches played from 1921 to 1958 were contested as the Territory of Curaçao (comprising all six islands of the Netherlands Antilles). From 1958 to 2010 all matches were contested as the Netherlands Antilles, successor of the Territory of Curaçao, (still comprising six islands until 1986, when Aruba seceded). All competitive fixtures after 2010 were contested by Curaçao, which solely consists of the island nation itself. Under the newly formed governing body, Curaçao have so far only competed in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

and

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualificationAlso the "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers". was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Parallel tourn ...

2012 Caribbean Cup qualification A total of 25 teams entered the qualification process for the 2012 Caribbean Cup, competing for a total of 8 spots in the final tournament. Jamaica, as the holders, and Antigua and Barbuda, as hosts, qualified automatically, leaving 6 spots open f ...

, the

and

2017 Caribbean Cup The 2017 Caribbean Cup was the 19th and final edition of the Caribbean Cup, the biennial international men's football championship of the Caribbean region organized by the Caribbean Football Union (CFU). The top four teams qualified for the 20 ...

, the

2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 14th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's soccer championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF, and 24th CONCACAF regional championship ove ...

2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 15th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was primarily hosted in the ...

, and the ABCS Tournament.