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The Caribbean island nation of Curacao has made history, becoming the smallest country by population to qualify for a World Cup. They secured their spot with a goalless draw against Jamaica on the final day of Concacaf qualifying.
Curacao remained undefeated throughout their campaign, topping Group B with 12 points, and now join Panama and Haiti in booking their World Cup ticket.
Their crucial match against Jamaica was navigated without head coach Dick Advocaat, the 78-year-old former Rangers and Sunderland boss, who was absent due to personal reasons.
The nation carries a land mass of 171 square miles and boasts a population of less than 157,000.
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Dick Advocaat convinced about Sunderland survival but John Carver needs focus at Newcastle
Iceland previously held the record as the smallest country to reach the World Cup when it qualified for the tournament in Russia in 2018.
Elsewhere, Spain secured automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup despite losing their 100 per cent record and conceding their first goals of the campaign in a 2-2 draw with Turkey.
Mikel Oyarzabal secured a point – and extended their run of 31 international games without defeat – with his sixth goal of qualifying just past the hour mark after the visitors bounced back from Dani Olmo’s opener to lead through Deniz Gul and Salih Ozcan.
Bulgaria’s 3-1 win over Georgia could not prevent them from finishing bottom of Group E.
Belgium confirmed their place with a 7-0 thrashing of Liechtenstein, with Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku scoring twice and Hans Vanaken, Brandon Mechele, Alexis Saelemaekers and Charles De Ketelaere (two) also on target.
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Scotland manager Steve Clarke celebratesafter reaching the 2026 World Cup (Andrew Milligan/PA) (PA Wire)
That rendered Wales’ 7-1 win over North Macedonia, with Harry Wilson’s hat-trick the highlight, academic but still earned them home advantage in their play-off semi-final.
Austria’s 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina guaranteed them top spot in Group H, with their rivals having to settle for a runners-up place, with Romania beating San Marino 7-1.
Likewise, Switzerland’s 1-1 draw in Kosovo was enough for them to qualify from Group B as the hosts could not find what would have been an historic winner after Florent Muslija’s 74th-minute equaliser.
Sweden earned their first point of the campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to Slovenia but still finished bottom of Group B.
Ten-man Denmark dropped into the play-offs after a dramatic 4-2 defeat to Scotland, who qualified for their first World Cup since 1998.
Rasmus Hojlund and Patrick Dorgu twice pegged back their hosts, the second after Rasmus Kristensen had been sent off, only for Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean to scored in added time.
Belarus against Greece finished goalless.
