This is the World Cup team with only one player born in the country they represent

Of the 48 teams taking part in this edition of the World Cup, just eight have rosters consisting completely of players born in their own country. The rest have at least one player who has either holds dual nationality or has been naturalized.

At the opposite extreme, there is a team which only has one player who was actually born in the country he represents - the rest were born abroad.

Curaçao is one of four teams making their World Cup debut at this edition, and when coach Dick Advocaat named his 26-man roster for the tournament back in February, he included just one homegrown player.

Attacking midfielder Tahith Chong was born in Willemstad, Curaçao at the turn of the new millennium. He is the only player in the Curaçao squad who was born there. All of the rest - from veteran goalkeeper Eloy Room to the team’s captain and top scorer, Leandro Bacuna, were all born in the Netherlands.

Chong left Curaçao aged eight to further his football education. He signed up with Feyenoord’s youth academy when he was 10 and by the time he was 14, he was already attracting attention from several Premier League clubs.

First taste of the Premier League

He joined Manchester United in 2016, and initially turned out for the Under-18 side before being sidelined for almost a year with a cruciate tear. He made his Premier League debut in March 2019, coming on for the final minute in the 3-2 against Southampton. His first league goal came against Liverpool during a loan stint at Luton.

At international level he represented the Netherlands at every youth category from Under-15 to Under-21. In June 2021 Tahith was faced with a tough decision: to accept an offer to represent Curaçao at senior level or not.

He accepted, and explained his choice in an interview with FIFA: “The idea was always there for years because that is home home. Curaçao needed to fix some things in the organisation and I feel like they have made those steps over the years which is brilliant to see. I felt it was the right time”.

Chong makes his senior debut with Curaçao

Chong made his debut under Dick Advocaat in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifier against Trinidad in September 2025. He started the next game against Bermuda and had a hand in all of Curaçao’s goals - scoring two and playing in Tyrese Noslin for the winner.

A meniscus tear kept him out of the remaining qualifiers but he returned to play a part in all of the team’s pre-World Cup friendlies this year.

It looks like Chong made the right decision all along. He could make his World Cup debut when the Blue Wave face four-time world champions Germany later today. Back home in the Caribbean, his family, including his 94-year-old grandmother, will be cheering him on.

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