Curacao are in the midst of what they are hoping is a Cinderalla run to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and they are counting on none other than Dutch legend Patrick Kluivert to get them there.
A former star striker for the Netherlands, Barcelona and other top teams in the world, Kluivert is currently the head coach of a Curacao side trying to navigate through CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. It is his first head-coaching job at the international level, and the task of taking the tiny Caribbean island to the World Cup is no easy feat.
Kluivert is off to a good start, however. This week, he helped Curacao edge Montserrat in the first round of qualifying via a 4-3 aggregate score. Now, the former striker is focusing on trying to guide Curacao past Cuba in the second round this June.
Canada will also be involved in the second round, kicking off their World Cup campaign against Dominica in their two-legged series this summer, while the USA, Mexico and other traditional powerhouses in the CONCACAF region await to start play in the fourth round later this year.
Here's a look back at the first-round aggregate scores and the second round match-ups, which will be played on June 8 and 16:
CONCACAF WCQ 1ST ROUND (MARCH 22 - MARCH 31)
Bahamas 0-8 Bermuda
British Virgin Islands 2-3 Dominica
Barbados 4-1 US Virgin Islands
St Kitts and Nevis 12-4 Turks and Caicos Islands
Nicaragua 8-0 Anguilla
Belize 1-1 Cayman Islands
Curacao 4-3 Montserrat
CONCACAF WCQ 2ND ROUND (JUNE 8 - JUNE 16)
St. Vincent and the Grenadines vs. Guyana
Antigua and Barbusa vs. Saint Lucia
Puerto Rico vs. Grenada
Dominica vs. Canada
Dominican Republic vs. Belize
Guatemala vs. Bermuda
Aruba vs. Barbados
St. Kitts and Nevis vs. El Salvador
Curacao vs. Cuba
Nicaragua vs. Suriname
