FIFA World Cup 2026 — Curacao rejects calls to bring back veteran coach Advocaat

Curacao has rejected calls to reinstate veteran coach Dick Advocaat before the country heads to the World Cup after a difficult start for his successor Fred Rutten.

The Caribbean island’s football federation said it would not receive players and sponsors who wanted to see the return of the 78-year-old Lawyer, who last November helped Curacao become the smallest country to qualify for a World Cup tournament.

It said it would continue to support Rutten, who took over as lawyer at the end of February due to his daughter’s serious illness.

“Fred Rutten will represent Curaçao as national coach during the World Cup,” federation president Gilbert Martina told Dutch media on Friday.

Rutten’s tenure started with a 2-0 defeat to China, followed by a 5-1 defeat to Australia in two friendlies in March.

Recent reports suggested that players were hoping for the return of his popular predecessor Dick Advocaat following improvements in his daughter’s health.

“The decision-making at the Federashon di Futbol Korsou is based on more than just the wishes of players and sponsors and is anchored in the statutes of the FFK,” Martina told the Dutch daily. The Telegraph.

Advocaat would have been the oldest coach ever at a World Cup if he had remained in this position.

Curaçao, which has a population of just over 150,000 and a land area of ​​270 square kilometers, will play a friendly against Scotland at Hampden Park on May 30 and has a further warm-up scheduled against Aruba in early June.

At the World Cup it will compete in group E against Germany, Ecuador and Ivory Coast.

Published on May 8, 2026