Curacao party – Curacao’s World Cup debut is being met with a soundtrack on a windowless school bus, after the Blue Wave went viral for traveling without windows—and for celebrating their qualification with the island still buzzing.
The bus rolled through the streets with no windows at all, palm thatched decorations and blue lighting inside, and a sound system turned loud enough that the training arrival turned into a party.
Curacao’s players stripped off. danced as the vehicle moved. sang and filmed the moment while the driver swerved through the roads. One star removed his shirt and did a limbo. Another came dangerously close to twerking. The clip spread quickly online. and fans kept comparing the Caribbean underdogs to the Jamaican bobsled team from the movie Cool Runnings.
Curaçao have been doing this on a rickety school bus for their travels—an image that now comes with a bigger stage attached. The island nation, with a population of 158,000, will make its World Cup debut in 2026. After qualification was secured, celebrations “barely subsided” back home, and even the trip to training carried that same energy.
Last November, Curacao stunned the football world with a tense 0-0 draw away to Jamaica, a result that secured their qualification for the 2026 World Cup. It also made them the smallest country by both size and population ever to reach football’s biggest tournament.
Midfielder Juninho Bacuna described what the breakthrough has changed. “It’s crazy,” he said. “Since we qualified for the World Cup, you see some people thinking, like, ‘Who is Curaçao?’ and then they’re going to look it up and see, like, ‘Oh, okay. Curaçao is quite nice’.”
Tahith Chong—who is the only member of the squad actually born on the island—spoke about how the achievement has reshaped the national mood. “It’s an amazing feeling. I think for all of us, everyone’s been proud,” the Sheffield United star said. “The World Cup, I don’t think the island has stopped talking about the World Cup.”.
For some, the qualification carried the kind of emotion that goes beyond sport. Superfan Brenton “Blueface” Balentian said the moment “brought everybody together.” “They were supporting Curaçao and that was for me the biggest and prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
The contrast between joy and pressure is sharp because Curacao’s World Cup group is brutal. They have been drawn in Group E alongside Germany. Ecuador and Ivory Coast—one of the toughest draws in the tournament. But the party bus. with its dancing and booming beats. suggests Curacao aren’t planning to let the schedule steal their momentum.
That rise has come against a backdrop of real difficulty. Around 30 per cent of residents live below the poverty line, and for many young people football is seen as a pathway to opportunities that might otherwise stay out of reach.
There is also a footballing story tied to identity and leadership. Curacao’s current set-up has been shaped by Dutch coach Dick Advocaat. who has helped transform the side after taking charge in 2024. Even with the island’s location off the coast of Venezuela, Curacao remains part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Only Tahith Chong was born on the island; the rest of the squad were born on the Dutch mainland. Captain Leandro Bacuna, born in Groningen, says there has never been any confusion about where he belongs. “I grew up in the Netherlands. I was born in the Netherlands,” he said. “And my father, the first thing he said to me is that ‘you’re not from the Netherlands. You are pure Curaçao.’”.
Curacao World Cup 2026 party bus school bus windowless bus Germany Tahith Chong Juninho Bacuna Leandro Bacuna Dick Advocaat Jamaica draw Blue Wave
Windowless bus?? that’s kinda dystopian lol but I guess it’s fun.
So wait they qualified and then got on a bus with literally no windows and were dancing?? That seems like a safety issue to me. Like why are we acting like that’s normal.
Cool Runnings comparisons are always gonna happen but I don’t get how they keep calling it a school bus if it’s for athletes? Also the driver swerved?? I swear I read somewhere it was like staged for social media.
This is the most Caribbean thing ever. Like I’m happy for them, but I keep thinking about how hot it must be in there with no windows and everyone filming. Also 158,000 people?? that’s wild, smallest country and all that. Next they’re gonna show up to the World Cup on a shopping cart or something and people will still be like “underdogs!”