The Curaçao national team achieved a historic milestone by qualifying for the World Cup finals for the first time ever, following an exciting away draw against Jamaica. This qualification puts veteran coach Dick Advocaat on the verge of becoming the oldest coach in the history of the tournament at the age of 78 if he remains in his position.

Curaçao, an autonomous island part of the Netherlands with a population of about 150,000, is the smallest country to qualify for this prestigious football event, making Advocaat’s leadership of the team an achievement that may surpass his long career, which included coaching seven national teams, including the Netherlands during three previous periods.

The well-traveled coach, who took charge of Curaçao last January, had to leave Jamaica shortly before the decisive match due to family reasons announced by the Curaçao Football Federation. Advocaat explained in a statement before his departure that the decision was "extremely difficult," emphasizing that "family is more important than football," despite his heavy heart at leaving the players at this critical moment.

Despite his physical absence, Advocaat remained in close contact with the team, watching the match from the Netherlands at 2 a.m. local time. The coach was able to continuously relay his instructions to his technical staff via phone, specifically to team manager Wouter Jansen, who in turn passed them on to assistant coaches Daan Joor and Koor Bot during halftime, highlighting his commitment and trust in the players and support staff.

It is worth noting that the current record for the oldest coach in the World Cup belongs to German Otto Rehhagel, who was 71 years and 317 days old when he led the Greek national team in their last group stage match against Argentina at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Dick Advocaat is expected to surpass this record by leading Curaçao in the upcoming finals.