Why 2025 was one of the worst years for Indian football
- Saumyajit Basu
- TNNUpdated: Dec 29, 2025, 17:40 IST IST
This year, most scrambled to check the Google Maps to find Curacao when the smallest-ever nation, in terms of population and size, qualified for next year’s mammoth World Cup 2026. With 155,000 inhabitants, the Caribbean island was guided to the top tier by Dick Advocaat, the former Rangers and PSV boss who has also worked with eight national teams including his native Netherlands (1992-94).
Sebastian Migne - who coaches Haitian national team - never set foot on Haiti, another Caribbean nation, because international flights do not land there. They played all their World Cup home qualifiers in Curacao, some 500 miles across the sea. These football stories are the brightest beacon of 2025.
Sebastian Migne - who coaches Haitian national team - never set foot on Haiti, another Caribbean nation, because international flights do not land there. They played all their World Cup home qualifiers in Curacao, some 500 miles across the sea. These football stories are the brightest beacon of 2025.
