Curacao play Australia in Melbourne on Tuesday in a friendly that is more than just World Cup preparation. The Caribbean island, the smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup with a population of 155,000, faced logistical challenges en route to Australia due to conflict in the Middle East, forcing their flight from Frankfurt to Singapore instead of the usual Amsterdam-Dubai-Sydney route.
The match at AAMI Park features a familiar face on the opposition bench: Roel Coumans, who was assistant coach to Bert van Marwijk for Australia at the 2018 World Cup, is now assistant to Fred Rutten for Curacao. Coumans sees parallels between the two teams' pre-tournament turmoil, as Curacao had three coaches in quick succession after Dick Advocaat stepped down following qualification.
"I still don't understand why Ange [Postecoglou] did not go to the World Cup," Coumans said, recalling Australia's coaching change before 2018. "When we came to Australia, we had not been through [qualification] together." He noted that taking over a team close to a tournament creates tension, as some players may be left out.
Curacao's squad is largely made up of players born and raised in the Netherlands, including former Premier League midfielder Leandro Bacuna and his brother Juninho, as well as ex-Manchester United winger Tahith Chong. Coumans takes heart from Australia's narrow 2-1 loss to France in their 2018 opener, which featured the first VAR decision in World Cup history. "Everyone expects a walkover and it will not be," he said of Curacao's group-stage opener against Germany on 14 June.
After the Australia friendly, Curacao will play a farewell match against Aruba before heading to Florida for their World Cup base camp. "Now it is Australia, then Holland, Scotland, Curacao then Florida," Coumans said. The team manager believes Curacao will attract global goodwill as the smallest country at the tournament.
