Advocaat to become oldest coach at World Cup after Curacao qualification

(Corrects typographic error in the first paragraph)

KINGSTON :At the age of 78, Dick Advocaat is set to be the oldest coach at a World Cup after his Curacao team held out for a dramatic draw in Jamaica and qualified for a first-ever finals appearance.

The much-travelled Advocaat has coached seven other national teams, including three stints in charge of his native Netherlands with whom he went as far as the World Cup quarter finals in 1994. However, taking Curacao to the World Cup might be his greatest achievement.

The tiny island nation, a self-governing part of the Netherlands with a population of little more than 150,000, is the smallest country to qualify for football's premier showcase.

Advocaat took charge of the team in January last year. However, he had to watch them complete the job from afar having left the squad shortly after they arrived in Jamaica at the weekend to return to his home in The Hague for what the Curacao federation said were "family reasons".

Ahead of the match, Advocaat in a statement said, "It's a very difficult decision to have to leave the boys here. I had to make this decision with a heavy heart, but family is more important than football. From the Netherlands, I will stay in close contact with the staff and I have complete confidence in this group of players."

It was 2 a.m. on Wednesday morning in the Netherlands when Advocaat sat down to watch the team, keeping in telephone contact with team manager Wouter Jansen, who passed his instructions on to assistant coaches Dean Gorre and Cor Pot at halftime, Dutch media reported.

Curacao led a charmed existence at a packed Independence Park as Jamaica hit the woodwork three times in the second half, although they did have their chances at the other end