Leading the World Cup finals for the first time in Curaçao’s history… Oldest World Cup finals coach

Leading the World Cup finals for the first time in Curaçao’s history… Oldest World Cup finals coach

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Bae Jin-nam = Coach Dick Advocaat (78, Netherlands), who also has ties to Korean soccer, continues to accompany the Curaçao national soccer team.

The Curaçao Football Association announced on the 9th (local time) that “the contract with national team coach Advocaat has been extended until July 31, 2027.”

“Under Advocaat’s leadership, Curaçao has made important developments on the international stage,” the association said. “With this contract extension, we have chosen continuity and stability as we continue to lay the foundations for the future of Curaçao football.”

Coach Advocaat expressed his thoughts on the contract extension through the Curacao Association, saying, “We have accomplished something special together,” and “I look forward to continuing to build on the achievements we have made so far with the players and staff.”

Coach Advocaat, who took the helm of the Curaçao national team in January 2024, is a leader who has led the new history of Curaçao soccer, including leading the team to advance to the 2026 North and Central America World Cup finals.

This year's tournament was the first time that Curaçao, a small island nation with a population of about 150,000, advanced to the World Cup finals.

Coach Advocaat, who stepped down as coach of the national team in February of this year, saying that he wanted to focus on taking care of his daughter, who was in poor health, returned to the position of coach last May, three months later, and stood on the World Cup stage with Curaçao.

Curaçao lost 1-7 to Germany in the first match of the group stage, but drew 0-0 with Ecuador and earned its first ever World Cup finals point. Afterwards, they lost 0-2 to Ivory Coast and finished the tournament in last place in Group E with 1 draw and 2 losses.

Coach Advocaat, who previously led the Netherlands to the quarterfinals at the 1994 U.S. World Cup and led the Korean national team at the 2006 Germany World Cup, was named the oldest coach in World Cup history at the North and Central American tournaments.