This Shows That Curaçao Can Change

This Shows That Curaçao Can Change

19 November 2025

Yesterday, 18 November 2025, I didn’t write. Not only because the tension surrounding the historic qualification had been building since the day before, but also due to personal circumstances. Something along the lines of the national coach — but different.

There was a call to join the Blue Wave everywhere, especially on social media — a movement that, in my view, is inspired by Oranje and the Venezuelan La Vinotinto.

Today, while we wait for the team to return, I am putting my posts from the past 48 hours in order, with some explanation. This is for the record. I am not planning to write only about football from now on; when I do, it is to illustrate that things can be different on Curaçao — and that Curaçao can change.

The Blue Wave led to countless expressions of support and confidence. Many believed that Curaçao would qualify directly for the final tournament. I felt the pressure on the players was inhuman. They have already given everything. That is why I wrote: “No Pressure, Just Do It.” That was the day before the match.

The enthusiasm became so overwhelming that I posted: “Tsunami Warning.” Aruba and Bonaire were fully invested — islands that sometimes rival each other, but that in recent years, through sports and music, have drawn closer together. The Netherlands, Dutch people, and our diaspora also joined in; some even lost sleep from the tension. I noted: “Reflekshon: Futbol a restruktura Antias!”What many have always dreamed of — that despite everything, the islands form one people with a shared future — suddenly feels possible through football.

Of course, enthusiasm also brought excesses, like speeding on the roads. So I reminded everyone that even on a day like this, rules and boundaries still apply: “Reflekshon: Awe tambe tin midi. Tur kos na midi.”

At nine o’clock in the evening, the ball started rolling: “Bala tei lora!” We held on during the first half: “45 min pa historia.” Then, twenty more minutes. Then ten. And ten minutes of extra time. And then the suffering was over. Curaçao had reached football heaven. “We did it! Four Angels. One VAR.” Jamaica hit the bar and the post four times, and in the fifth minute of extra time, the VAR reversed a penalty.

The team has placed Curaçao on the world map: “Reflekshon: A buta Kòrsou riba mapa!”

Many say that Little League and Churendy Martina did the same. But one must understand that the entire world watches the World Cup — even people who never follow football. It is the most-watched event in human history. And if you qualify as the smallest country ever, you are global news for years.

There is reason to celebrate. But also a reason to consolidate and to learn. What is possible in football — collective mobilization, discipline, belief, teamwork — is also possible in other domains. That may be the most important lesson.

Miguel Goede