WILLEMSTAD, Curacao — The Reggae Boyz are dreaming of a spot at next year’s FIFA World Cup. Unfortunately for them, so are Curacao. Their experienced captain Leandro Bacuna says they plan to create their own history.

Curacao will entertain the Jamaicans on Friday in their Group B Concacaf World Cup Qualifier here at the Ergilio Hato Stadium.

The Reggae Boyz have the advantage with six points from their opening two games while Curacao sit second on four points.

Former Aston Villa midfielder Bacuna, who has 15 goals in 62 appearances for Curacao, told the Jamaica Observer that while being wary of the threat Jamaica pose, he’s confident the team can get the job done.

“Jamaica has been developing. In the beginning, it was a lot of local players — very strong, very physical but now they have quality players and we’ve got quality players so it’s going to be a totally different game,” Bacuna said.

“If you look at the names they’ve got, I’m going to say, I’ve played with Bobby Reid, I’ve played against Demarai Gray so they have a lot of great names. It’s going to be a totally different game for us. It’s going to be quality against quality, fighting spirit. For both national teams, it’s going to be a chance and everyone wants to win the game, so I’m really excited and looking forward to the game.”

A win for the Reggae Boyz would put them a step closer to qualification while making Curacao’s path virtually impossible.

Knowing it could be the potential group decider, Bacuna says the mental battle will be important.

“It’s very important — it’s now or never, this is the game. If you look at the group we are in, from the first couple of times we looked at it [the toughest game is] going to be Jamaica. We’ve got the quality, they’ve got the quality,” he said.

“They’re a great nation, we are a great nation. If you want to go to the World Cup, you have to get points or at least don’t lose the game and then you still have a chance at the end when we go to Jamaica. It’s going to be a very important game, there’s going to be nerves for both teams. but it’s about who can deal with it the best.”

Unlike the Reggae Boyz, Curacao, since the country’s split from the Netherland Antilles in 2011, were unable to qualify for the 2014, 2018, and 2022 World Cups.

Bacuna says several factors including salary and travel issues contributed to their past failures but he’s renewed his belief that this could be the right moment.

“There is so much belief from the island that such a small island can actually qualify for the World Cup, so that’s the thing that has been put into our body that this is our chance. We’re never going to get as big of a chance as right now so it’s a beautiful thing,” he said.

“When I joined the national team [in 2016] I was playing in England. I came here, everything was not organised. Sometimes we didn’t have a flight, we had to wait for some things. But now, 10 years later, you can see development. Everything is going better. We get flights, we get paid on time, we get everything.”

The last time the two teams met was during the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Only the group winner will automatically advance to next summer’s World Cup in USA, Canada, and Mexico.

Curacao team in training at Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad, Curacao on Wednesday ahead of their FIFA World Cup qualifying football match at the same venue on Friday. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

Curacao goalkeeper Trevor Doornbusch lunges for a shot. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

Curacao captain Leandro Bacuna (left) controls the ball while teammates look on. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)