WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao delivered an emphatic performance Sunday evening, defeating Nicaragua 6-1 in the Nations League in front of nearly 7,500 spectators at the Ergilio Hato Stadium.
The national team, led by head coach Dick Advocaat, effectively settled the contest before halftime with a five-goal first-half display before adding another goal after the break.
Curaçao immediately took control of the match and opened the scoring through Kenji Gorré. The forward fired from distance, with his shot striking the post before finding the back of the net.
Leandro Bacuna soon doubled the advantage with a header to make it 2-0. The goal also produced a special moment on the sidelines, as several Curaçao players ran toward Advocaat to celebrate with the coach on his birthday.
The Blue Wave continued to overwhelm the visitors.
Juninho Bacuna tapped home Curaçao's third goal before scoring again to make it 4-0. Nicaragua briefly managed to apply more pressure toward goalkeeper Eloy Room's goal, but Curaçao remained the more dangerous side.
Before halftime, Gorré struck again for his second goal of the evening, sending Curaçao into the dressing room with a commanding 5-0 lead.
Advocaat used the comfortable advantage to make several changes during the second half. Tijjani Noslin, Tahith Chong and Nicky Souren were among the players introduced.
Chong quickly created an opportunity to extend the lead, but Nicaragua's goalkeeper stopped his close-range attempt.
Nicaragua eventually found a consolation goal through substitute Jaime Moreno, who scored on a counterattack to reduce the deficit to 5-1.
Curaçao continued searching for more goals, with Jeremy Antonisse among those threatening the Nicaraguan defense.
There was briefly concern for Chong after he went down following a hard challenge during an attacking move. The forward received treatment on the field but was able to continue playing.
Jürgen Locadia eventually completed the scoring, finding the net for Curaçao's sixth goal and sealing an impressive 6-1 victory.
The result gives Curaçao another convincing Nations League performance and provided the home crowd with a six-goal celebration at the Ergilio Hato Stadium.