THERE won’t be millions of people from Curacao cheering on their national team in the World Cup, because Curacao doesn’t have millions of people.

Not even close.

Before the tournament even begins, Curacao has already crafted a story like none other in World Cup history. A tiny island country — autonomous territory, if you prefer — of about 156,000 residents in the Caribbean is now the smallest, both in terms of population and land mass, to make it to football’s biggest stage. And if that wasn’t enough, it’s doing so under a coach in Dick Advocaat who, at 78, is about to become the oldest the tournament has ever seen.

They know what the world is probably thinking: Their country is too small, their coach is too old, they don’t have a chance.

They heard all that through the qualifying process as well — and here they are.

“We have made history,” Curacao defender Sherel Floranus said. “We are writing our own history, for this island.”

The way they see it, they’ve already won.

Curacao cruised through qualifying, winning all four of their opening-round matches against Haiti, Saint Lucia, Aruba and Barbados. In the next phase, they won three and lost three against Jamaica, Bermuda and Trinidad & Tobago to secure one of three World Cup places available to 32 qualifying teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Just how small is Curacao? Their first World Cup stop — a June 14 match against Germany in Houston — is to a city with 15 times as many people as the island. The stadium in Houston could hold about one-half of Curacao’s entire population.

It has been a perfect storm to get here. First, the three host nations for this World Cup — the US, Mexico and Canada — were exempt from qualifying and already were in the tournament field. And this inaugural edition of an expanded 48-team tournament made it inevitable that there would be some surprise teams getting to the World Cup.

“We know there is a big chance that we don’t win the World Cup, but that we [made it] there … for Curacao, a very, very, very good moment,” said Remko Bicentini, a former pro player and Curacao’s former national team head coach. “We are proud of that.

“It is a party for the whole Curacao. It’s a big level and all the players … we worked years, for years, for years, very hard to become where we now are.”

Curacao’s sports history sometimes masked by Dutch ties

The island was part of the Netherlands Antilles until October 2010, when it became a more autonomous “constituent country” of the Netherlands. The Dutch monarchy still reigns, the citizens remain Dutch nationals and the Netherlands government oversees defence and foreign affairs. And this week, Curacao’s World Cup preparations are happening in the Netherlands — a nine-hour direct flight away, but a place where the team were greeted with “welcome home” signage.

The sense is clearly that the results at the tournament won’t mean much. Winning a match would be magical. Tying one would be cause for celebration. Just being there, for those from Curacao, is a victory in itself.

“I always saw other countries play the World Cup,” said Michael Stokkel, a policeman. “I was a fan of Brazil, but now I will be a fan of my own country. It’s an incredible feeling.”

He’s going to the World Cup, but by himself. It’s just too expensive to bring others, he said.

It’s not unheard of for athletes from Curacao to compete on the international stage. The rare part here is that they’re doing it actually as “Curacao.” There have been unsuccessful attempts for the nation to be recognised as its own Olympic team; athletes compete in the Summer Games either for the Netherlands or independent athletes. At the World Baseball Classic earlier this year, players featured for the Netherlands.

Ozzie Albies of the Atlanta Braves, a native of Willemstad, the island’s capital and biggest city, said his nation getting to the World Cup is “history for the guys and the accomplishment is super special for Curacao.”

The Dutch are a World Cup contender with their own national team. Curacao, who will have their base camp at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, when it shifts its full operation to the US in the coming days, is simply savouring its moment.

“I think it’s been amazing for the whole island,” said Tahith Chong, one of the national team’s top players. “Just seeing how the island has lived with it and just knowing, I think that a lot of people don’t know about Curacao. It loves football and it’s quite big here. So, to be present this year at the World Cup is obviously something amazing for the island.”

‘So the world knows who we are’

The hope, politically, is that the team will be a unifying force.

At 171 square miles, Curacao has roughly as much land mass as New Orleans. There are at least 125 US cities with larger populations than the entire island. Its population is about the same as Hollywood — no, not the one in California, but the city in Florida that sits between Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

Curacao’s Prime Minister, Gilmar Pisas, sees this World Cup as an opportunity. The team known as the Blue Wave — a nod to the shimmering turquoise water that surrounds the island — and blue is a theme for everything in the country, right down to the Blue Curacao liquor that is popular around the world.

For the next few weeks, Pisas wants the nation to be Blue Nation as well.

“We will become part of something larger than ourselves, something that, despite our differences, brings us together,” Pisas said. “We share a single anthem and a single flag … rather than being divided into separate camps. We are, finally, truly united. It is a project dedicated to the construction of a nation. It acknowledges that your people, and you yourself, are an integral part of this collective mission — the ‘Blue Nation’.”

This will not require Brenton Balentien to change much about his regular day-to-day routine.

If you see a bald, bearded, muscular man with his head and face painted blue for Curacao games, you’ve likely found Balentien — simply known around the island as “Blue Face.” He’s a longtime football fan who took notice of how fans in Brazil, Colombia and other places would show up at matches in wigs and elaborate costumes.

“I said, ‘Curacao needs that,’” Balentien said. “Curacao is a very passive island. We watch the games and clap, sure, but we’re not the kind of fans who go out there and scream for the full 90 minutes. And I said, ‘No, we have to change that.’”

So, in 2015, Blue Face — someone who began chanting in largely empty stadiums and now has a huge following — was born. He applies the paint himself before every match. He’s basically a national mascot; a bartender, influencer and event organiser in real life, a football superfan when the paint comes out.

“We do this for this island,” Balentien said, “so the world knows who we are.”

The underdogs hope to be ‘giants in the World Cup’

If the world doesn’t know yet, they’ll see soon enough.

Curacao, currently ranked No 82 in Fifa’s global rankings, open World Cup play against global power and 10th-ranked Germany. They then play No 23 Ecuador in Kansas City on June 20 and finish group stage play against No 34 Ivory Coast on June 25 in Philadelphia.

They will be underdogs in all three matches, barring something very unusual.

No problem. The Blue Wave is coming, the pressure is off and confidence is high.