Curacao faces Ecuador in World Cup match amid high expectations
Yahoo Sports • 1 min read • Latest: Jun 20, 2026, 12:42 AM
Last updated Jun 20, 2026
Curacao, ranked 83rd, prepares to play Ecuador in Kansas City on Saturday following a 7-1 defeat to Germany in their opening Group E match. Coach Dick Advocaat emphasized the joy this World Cup brings to the island's people while urging realism about their chances. Advocaat, the oldest coach in World Cup history, faces a team ranked 54 places higher in Ecuador, which finished second in South American qualifying. He acknowledged the significant challenges ahead but stressed the importance of the experience for the players.
- •Curacao lost 7-1 to Germany in their first group match.
- •Dick Advocaat coaches Curacao, urging realism before facing Ecuador.
- •Ecuador is ranked 54 places higher than Curacao.
- •Curacao's next match is against Ivory Coast on June 25.
- 12:42 AMYahoo Sports — Advocaat urges realism as Curacao live World Cup dream
"Dick Advocaat said World Cup minnows Curacao had given "unprecedented joy" to the people of the small Caribbean island but tempered expectations on the eve of their clash against Ecuador."When you still see the joy of those people, that is unprecedented and not everyone has realised that yet," Dutch coach Advocaat, 78, said ahead of Saturday's match in Kansas City.
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