The country that is competing in the World Cup was already beaten by Corinthians in a historic friendly in 1981
- By Mirella Ramos / Central do Timão Editorial
The Curaçao team, which in 2026 entered history as the country with the smallest population to compete in a World Cup, already had a meeting with Corinthians in one of the club's last international commitments in the 1981 season. On that occasion, Timão beat the Caribbean team 6 x 0, in a friendly match held in Willemstad, the country's capital.
The confrontation took place on December 2, 1981 and ended Corinthians' tour of Central America. Under the command of coach Mário Travaglini, Corinthians did not encounter difficulties against the local team, which still represented the Netherlands Antilles and was made up of players from different leagues in the region, many of them without exclusive dedication to football.
Photo: Reproduction / Corinthians
The highlight of the rout was Sócrates, who scored three goals and commanded the black and white attack. Zenon, Mário and Paulinho completed the scoring for Corinthians.
The Corinthians team started the match with César; Zé Maria, Rondinelli, Wágner and Wladimir; Biro-Biro, Socrates, Zenon; Eduardo Amorim, Mário and Joãozinho. During the game, Luís Cláudio, Gomes, Paulinho and Caçapava also participated in the match.
The duel against Curaçao was part of a sequence of five friendlies played by Corinthians during their visit to Mexico and Central America. Before the defeat, the club had faced opponents in Mexico and Guatemala, ending the trip with four wins and a draw.
Check the results of the tour:
- Independiente-ARG 1 x 2 Corinthians - 11/18/1981 11/29/1981
- Curaçao Selection 0 x 6 Corinthians - 12/02/1981
The international campaign served as the end of a year below expectations for the club. In the 1981 season, Corinthians failed to advance to the decisive stages of the Brazilian Championship and were also left out of the final stage of the Campeonato Paulista.
Despite this, that squad had players who would be important for one of the most remarkable periods in Corinthians history. The team's base would later participate in Democracia Corinthiana, a movement that gained prominence due to the participation of athletes in the club's internal decisions during the period of the Brazilian military dictatorship.
The relationship between Corinthians and Curaçao
At the time of the friendly, Curaçao was not yet an independent team recognized by FIFA. The team acted as a representative of the Netherlands Antilles, a territory that existed until 2010, when Curaçao gained its own sporting autonomy.
From 2011 onwards, the Curaçao team started to compete independently in international competitions and, in 2026, achieved a historic feat by qualifying for their first World Cup.
The debut at the World Cup, however, was not positive. The team suffered a 7-1 defeat to Germany in the first round of the group stage. Next, Curaçao will face Ecuador and Ivory Coast in an attempt to get their first points in the competition.
The post Country that is competing in the World Cup was already beaten by Corinthians in a historic friendly in 1981 first appeared on Central do Timão.
The content Country that is competing in the World Cup was already beaten by Corinthians in a historic friendly in 1981 appears first in Central do Timão.
Source: Timao Central