Curaçao’s blue wave: Smallest nation ever on football’s biggest stage

For the first time ever, tiny Curaçao is competing in the soccer World Cup, the biggest sporting show on Earth.

Curaçao has already crafted a story unlike any other in World Cup history.

A tiny island country or autonomous territory of about 156,000 residents is now the smallest, both in population and land area, to reach soccer’s biggest stage.

And if that wasn’t enough, they’re doing so under a coach in Dick Advocaat who, at 78, is about to become the oldest the tournament has ever seen.

Brenton Balentien is one of the most recognizable faces in Curaçao's fanbase.

He began actively cheering and building a more euphoric crowd in the stands from 2015.

Now, he is practically a celebrity on the island and is getting ready to be the loudest of them all in the U.S. when Curaçao plays its games.

"It's our chance to show the world who we are and that a country this small can have a big achievement like this," Balentien believes.

The island of 171 square miles (443 square kilometres) was part of the Netherlands Antilles until October 2010, when it became a more autonomous “constituent country” of the European country.

But the Dutch monarchy still reigns, the citizens remain Dutch nationals and the Netherlands government oversees defense and foreign affairs.

The islanders know what the world is probably thinking: Their country is too small, their coach is too old, they don’t have a chance —but they heard all that through the qualifying process as well.

The Curaçao football federation has for years worked on building a more competitive team.

It actively recruited from the diaspora, getting permission from FIFA within world soccer's rules to change the national-team eligibility of players who once represented the Netherlands at youth or Under-21 level.

The federation also began to build a brand for the country — the so-called "Blue Wave" — further solidify the patriotic sentiment.

Curaçao's autonomy and the football fever may seem a new thing — but its people have always loved football.

A playoff match of the local football league was attended recently by hundreds of excited fans in the capital, Willemstad.

Tahith Chong, a former Manchester United youth player, is one of the few national squad members actually born on Curaçao.

He also attended the playoff game, to have a good time with friends and locals.

Going to the World Cup has been "amazing" for the whole island, he says, adding that qualifying had put Curaçao on the global sport map.

Curaçao, currently ranked No. 82 in FIFA’s global rankings, opens World Cup play against Germany in Houston on June 14.

The team will be underdogs in all three matches, barring something very unusual.

But the islanders are full of optimism — the Blue Wave is coming, and confidence is high.