The Smallest Nation To Qualify For FIFA World Cup

Haiti defied the odds to book a place at next year's World Cup on Tuesday and they will be joined by both Panama and Curacao, who became the smallest country to ever win a berth at the finals.

The three clinched top spots in their respective groups to advance from the North and Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF) region to the 48-team finals in Canada, Mexico and the US.

Haiti beat Nicaragua 2-0 in Curacao, where they have been forced to play their home fixtures because of the strife in their country, to finish top of Group C, while Panama's 3-0 home win over El Salvador ensured they ended up as winners of Group A.

Curacao held Jamaica to a goalless draw away to stay one point ahead of their hosts at the top of Group B, despite being without veteran Dutch coach Dick Advocaat, who returned to Europe at the weekend for family reasons.

A self-governing part of the Netherlands with a population of 156,000, the Caribbean island nation is easily the least populous country to go to the World Cup, beating the previous record held by Iceland with its 350,000 inhabitants.

Curacao lived dangerously in Kingston, where Jamaica were awarded a last-gasp penalty four minutes into stoppage time only for the referee to change his decision after consulting VAR.

Jamaica, coached by former England manager Steve McClaren, needed a win to qualify but hit the woodwork

three times in the second half and Curacao's team, made up entirely of players born in the Netherlands with Antillean roots, held out to secure a World Cup debut.

Haiti's qualification was remarkable given that armed gangs have taken control of almost all of the capital, Port-au-Prince, in a conflict that has forced some 1.3 million people from their homes and fuelled famine-level hunger.

The levels of danger in Haiti are such that their coach, Sebastien Migne, has not been there since being appointed 18 months ago but the Frenchman has nevertheless managed to engineer a fairytale qualification – their second after a first appearance in 1974.

Haiti started the final round of fixtures on Tuesday behind Honduras on goal difference, but goals from Louicious Deedson and Ruben Providence lifted them to 11 points, while Honduras drew 0-0 away at Costa Rica and finished on nine.

Panama romped through their game, ahead early after a thunderous strike from wingback Cesar Blackman, with their second coming from the penalty spot courtesy of Eric Davis, who was in the squad when Panama made their only previous World Cup appearance in 2018.

Substitute Jose Luis Rodriguez added a third late in the game.

Suriname had been ahead of Panama on goal difference before the start of Tuesday's games but lost 3-1 in Guatemala.

However, a late own goal kept them in World Cup contention as they will go, along with Jamaica, to the inter-confederation playoff tournament in March.

There, the two CONCACAF teams will be matched against Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, and New Caledonia. The six teams will be vying for two spots at the finals.