Curaçao beat Trinidad & Tobago 1-0 on Thursday night at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad, and Juninho Bacuna delivered the only goal with a 58th-minute finish that sent 7,662 spectators home happy. The result extended Curaçao’s run to three straight wins in the current Nations League campaign and kept its home momentum alive in front of a crowd that stayed with the Blue Wave all night.
Bacuna’s goal, set up by Tahith Chong, was his 16th international strike for Curaçao and moved him to within one of Leandro Bacuna on the team’s all-time scoring list. Curaçao were the more dangerous side throughout, finishing with 18 shots and nine on target, while Trinidad & Tobago managed only two shots on target and never really found a way through.
The clean sheet belonged to Eloy Room, but the match tightened after Dantaye Gilbert was sent off in the 71st minute for Trinidad & Tobago. Even with the extra space, Curaçao could not add a second goal, and that left the visitors with a slimmer margin than their volume of chances suggested.
The setting mattered. Earlier in 2025, Curaçao made its historic first appearance at the FIFA World Cup, and the lift from that run has carried into the CONCACAF Nations League, where the team has now won three matches in a row. More than 7,600 supporters in blue were part of the evening in Willemstad, giving the home side a loud backdrop for a result that felt bigger than a single goal.
The two teams meet again on Sunday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, and Trinidad & Tobago will have to solve the same problem all over again: stopping Curaçao long enough to make the game last. Bacuna has already done the damage once, and with his scoring form and Curaçao’s recent run, the rematch arrives with a familiar edge.
