EXCLUSIVE: Curacao captain Bacuna on nation's World Cup debut and his time in England

Riding on a wave of confidence, teamwork and belief, Curacao defied expectations and stunned the football world back in November by securing a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, becoming the smallest country by population (around 185,000 people) ever to book a ticket for the major tournament.  

Sparking jubilant scenes on the Caribbean island, most of the Curacaoans were out on the streets in the capital of Willemstad celebrating the historic success, with the Blue Wave enjoying a hero's welcome. 

The distant dream of reaching the World Cup long persisted in the minds of the Curacaoans, and one of the pioneers of the national team and current captain, Bacuna, fondly remembers his teammate Jarzinho Pieter, who made him believe the lifelong dream would come true one day.

Unfortunately, the goalkeeper tragically lost his life before a Concacaf Nations League match back in 2019, but the Blue Wave never forgot him, nor did his friend Leandro, who got a tattoo in Puru's honour.

"We had a dream, and I remember a goalkeeper we had from Curacao, his name was Jarzinho Pieter. He told me the first day I joined (in 2016) that we're able to reach the World Cup. I'm really sad he never got the chance to experience all the beautiful things we've been through and achieved. But he has been protecting us and guiding us through all the success we had and is going to watch over us at the World Cup," says Bacuna.

With Curacao getting ready to make waves at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the months leading up to the tournament turned out to be turbulent.

Dick Advocaat stepped down from his coaching role in February due to his daughter's health, with Fred Rutten taking over. However, the condition of Advocaat's daughter then improved, and Rutten resigned on the 11th of May to allow the veteran to return. The 78-year-old Dutchman will become the oldest coach in World Cup history.

Despite the challenging period, the dressing room's DJ Bacuna is keeping the vibes at an all-time high within the squad and maintaining full focus on the life-changing moment for the country. The experienced international will lead Curacao as the joint-most capped player (70 appearances) in their history alongside Eloy Room.

"I'm very happy, and I've been preparing more than anything for the World Cup," Bacuna says. "For me, it's a big honour to be a captain, and I want to do the best I can to lead my players and give them the experience that I have at a high level.

"On a personal level, I'm 34, so almost at the end of my career; it's like a cherry on the cake for me. I've been working so hard always to prove my quality, and I think that me as a player and the country deserve to be at the World Cup because we believed in a dream and our dream came true."

Curaçao reached the 2026 World Cup by rounding off an unbeaten campaign in the qualifiers with a goalless draw against Jamaica in Kingston, being the highest-scoring (13 goals) and the joint-best defensive (3 goals) national team in Group B. 

Subsequently, the Blue Wave captain is confident in the squad's quality to compete with the opponents (Germany, Ivory Coast, Ecuador) in Group E: "We believed that we could reach the World Cup, and we didn't get there by luck; we were unbeaten, and we're keeping the same positive vibes that we always had.

"We don't go to the World Cup to lose, we're going to show ourselves and do the best we can. We're not afraid of anyone, of course, it's going to be very difficult, but we aren't afraid of a challenge."

Before representing Curacao, the Groningen-born midfielder made a few appearances for the Netherlands youth national teams, but ultimately decided to play for the Blue Wave at senior level.

It's a path-defining decision, which influenced many other players of Curacaoan descent to follow in his footsteps, including his younger brother Juninho and the former Manchester United winger Tahith Chong.

"I'm born and raised in Groningen, and of course I played for the Netherlands, but finally never made it to the senior squad and then I chose to play for Curacao, one of the best choices I've made, as everything is nice," Bacuna says.

"After I joined, a lot of players followed in the beginning, and I didn't know what kind of role we had as players. But after we started to get good results, qualifying for major tournaments and stuff, everything started to get more interesting for all the other players. They could see that all we were doing was starting to make the country proud, and we were slowly but surely achieving good things.

"So yeah, we played a good role and still are in the same position for the future, and my advice is, you have to feel it with your heart to join (us)."

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will offer a unique opportunity for the world to get familiar with Curacao, and the captain expects quite a few Curacaoans to be present in the stands, supporting them in Houston, Kansas City and Philadelphia, respectively.

The crystal-clear Caribbean turquoise waters and the colourful houses are the highlights of Curacao, but Leandro is more excited about the world getting to know the warm nature of his compatriots: "I expect the people who have a chance to be there will definitely be there. We love football in Curacao, and now that we've qualified, people will come from everywhere to support us.

"Also, people will see and find out how nice the people from Curacao are and how much we believe in God, and that he will guide us to achieve big things." 

Falling in love with English football

Undoubtedly, Leandro Bacuna is the most high-profile player in the squad.

The 34-year-old is currently plying his trade with Igdir FK in Turkey, but the Groningen-born midfielder began his professional career at his hometown club Groningen back in 2009 before spending most of it in the Premier League and Championship with Aston Villa, Reading, Cardiff and Watford.

"I'm always grateful for every chance Groningen gave me; they made Leandro Bacuna. Of course, I've been to a lot of other clubs, but that's where it all started for me, and they believed in me," recalls Bacuna. 

The versatile Bacuna, who can play both in defence and midfield, spent four years in the Eredivisie with the Green-Whites and caught the eye of Paul Lambert's Aston Villa in the summer of 2013.

The then-21-year-old was immediately handed the no. 7 shirt at Villa Park, and when asked about the difference in intensity coming to the Premier League, Bacuna jokingly recalls: "Everything I remember from my first training when I arrived there was one guy who made a crazy sliding tackle on me. I was in shock, I thought, 'What is happening, it's just training, calm down!', but no, that was my welcome.

"That day, I realised that I have to step up my game, and I love a challenge. So, I took it on myself and stayed 10 years in England and loved every little bit of it. It's a tough league, but very beautiful and the passion, the desire that the people have there, it's crazy."

He spent four full seasons at Villa Park in total, three of which were in the Premier League, and made 116 appearances.

The legendary Jaap Stam then called in 2017 while at the helm of Reading in the Championship, and Bacuna spent the next year and a half at the Madejski Stadium.

"It's crazy to have a Dutch manager in England because his way of playing was different, and you can see straight away it was a different style, and we had success with it. He was a great manager too with his assistant coach Said Bakkati at the time," adds Bacuna.

On deadline day in the winter transfer window of 2019, Bacuna joined Cardiff with the ultimate aim of helping the Welsh club secure safety in the Premier League. Unfortunately, the Neil Warnock-led Bluebirds fell short in the bid and suffered relegation, but Cardiff will always hold a special place in Leandro's heart. 

"I joined Cardiff when they were still in the Premier League, but we got relegated, and then it meant so much for Cardiff to get back to the Premier League. We had a good run through the play-offs, but lost to Fulham, who went back up the year after," remembers Bacuna.

"I had a great time there. The people from Wales are so nice, one of my sons was born in Cardiff, and it's a place I will never forget." 

A final season in the Championship followed with Watford in 2022/23 before Bacuna returned for a second spell with his hometown club, Groningen, helping the Green-Whites earn promotion from the Eerste Divisie to the Eredivisie for 2024/25.

With the Curacao captain being in the latter stages of his career, one dream remains unfulfilled, but he has hope of realising it before he finally hangs up his boots. 

"I still have one big dream in my football career, and that is to play in the same football team as my little brother (Juninho), but I'm very happy where I'm now. That is one of my dreams before I retire, but at the moment I'm fit and still going strong, so we will see what the future brings," he concludes.