WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao’s national football team gave thousands of supporters another reason to celebrate Thursday night, defeating Trinidad & Tobago 1-0 before 7,662 spectators at the Ergilio Hato Stadium.
The Curaçao Football Federation (FFK) announced the attendance following a match in which the home crowd remained behind the Blue Wave as the team searched for the breakthrough.
That moment finally came in the 58th minute.
Juninho Bacuna found the net after being set up by Tahith Chong, putting Curaçao ahead 1-0 and sending the Ergilio Hato stands into celebration. The goal proved to be the winner.
Juninho Bacuna
The victory was another positive moment for a national team that has generated unprecedented enthusiasm on the island following Curaçao’s historic first appearance at the FIFA World Cup earlier this year.
Thursday evening showed that the connection between the team and the Curaçao public remains strong. More than 7,600 people turned up for the CONCACAF Nations League match, transforming the national stadium into another celebration of Curaçao football. The attendance figure was also announced inside the stadium following the match.
Curaçao had to work for the victory. The Blue Wave created several opportunities during the first half but went into halftime with the score still 0-0. Kenji Gorré posed a regular threat from the left, while Chong and Jürgen Locadia also had opportunities to open the scoring.
The numbers reflected Curaçao’s attacking intent. The national team registered 18 shots, nine of them on target, compared with only two shots on target for Trinidad & Tobago.
Bacuna eventually rewarded that pressure shortly before the hour mark.
The evening became more difficult for Trinidad & Tobago when Dantaye Gilbert was sent off in the 71st minute, leaving the visitors with ten players for the final part of the match. Curaçao continued pushing for a second goal but ultimately did not need it.
Goalkeeper Eloy Room kept a clean sheet, and Curaçao protected its narrow advantage through the final whistle.
The goal also carried personal significance for Bacuna. It was his 16th international goal for Curaçao, putting him just one behind his brother Leandro Bacuna on the national team's all-time scoring list.
For the supporters in the Ergilio Hato Stadium, however, Thursday was about more than statistics.
The Blue Wave has given Curaçao football fans an extraordinary period to enjoy, and thousands once again came dressed in blue, carrying flags and supporting a team that has increasingly become a source of national pride.
The celebration will be brief. Curaçao and Trinidad & Tobago meet again Sunday, this time at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain. Curaçao enters that match with momentum after three consecutive victories in the current Nations League campaign.
Thursday night belonged to the 7,662 supporters in Willemstad—and to one Juninho Bacuna goal that gave them exactly what they came to see: another Curaçao victory.