Dutch coach Fred Rutten (63) has resigned as manager of the Curacao national football team with just one month to go before the 2026 World Cup, the Curacao Football Federation (FFK) announced.
The smallest territory ever to qualify for a World Cup has been drawn into a highly competitive group alongside Germany, Ivory Coast, and Ecuador.
Rutten, a former defender who has coached PSV, Twente, Schalke 04, and Anderlecht, among others, took over the team four months before the tournament began. He replaced his compatriot Dick Advocaat, who unexpectedly stepped down.
Advocaat, 78, had led Curacao to World Cup qualification but decided to leave the role to care for his sick daughter.
Under Rutten’s guidance, Curacao played two friendly matches in March, losing both: 2-0 to China and 5-1 to Australia.
According to the FFK statement, Rutten “chose to resign in order to preserve stability and maintain healthy professional relationships within the team and coaching staff.” The federation mentioned “constructive conversations with the federation’s leadership.”
“A climate that harms healthy professional relationships within the team or coaching staff should not be allowed. That is why leaving is the right decision,” Rutten said in the statement.
“Time is short, and Curacao must move forward. I regret how things have turned out, but I wish everyone the best,” he added.
In April, the now-former coach told AFP that taking charge of the team just months before the World Cup—to be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada from June 11 to July 19—was “very difficult.”
“It’s complicated: I’m joining a team that is truly a family,” he said at the time.
Curacao will make their World Cup debut on June 15 against Germany in Group E.