Curaçao: Football underdog makes it to the World Cup singing about the goodness of God
The smallest country in the World Cup's history finished its preparation by singing The goodness of God and hearing the conversion story of Kenji Gorré, one of its international players.
05 JUNE 2026 · 15:19 CET
On the eve of their trip to the United States, the Curaçao national team, which will make its World Cup debut against Germany on 14 June 2026, experienced an unusual day in international football: an afternoon of collective worship and prayer in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, organised in collaboration with the Presence Revival worship movement.
The images quickly went viral on social media. In the videos, players and coaches can be seen singing popular worship songs such as The Goodness of God, a hymn that the team adopted as their anthem during the qualifying phase.
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The record and the story behind the team
Curaçao will make history at this World Cup as the smallest country in terms of both population and territory to compete, breaking the record previously held by Iceland since Russia 2018.
With just 156,000 inhabitants and an area of 444 square kilometres, the Caribbean island completed an unbeaten qualifying round, leading its group ahead of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Bermuda.
Now, in Group E, they will face Germany (14 June), Ecuador (20 June) and the Ivory Coast (25 June).
However, the headlines in recent hours have not come from the pitch, but from expressions of faith.
“I let Kenji go and let God in”
During the gathering in Noordwijk, winger Kenji Gorré shared his conversion story with his teammates.
Gorré, who started playing for Manchester United’s youth teams at the age of six and currently plays for Israeli club Maccabi Haifa, is also a leader of the Christian sports movement Ballers in God.
Gorré recounted how his life had unfolded since childhood, building his identity entirely around football. “My joy was in it. My happiness was in it. When football was good, my life was good. when football is bad, my life as bad. And that was my reality”, he explained.
The first setback came at the age of eighteen, when well known coach, Sir Alex Ferguson told him that he would not be making the first team at Manchester United.
“For the first time, my identity got taken away from me . Everyone knew me as the guy that played for Manchester United. I was left wondering: who am I?”
His search for meaning continued even as his professional career took off. After signing for Swansea, making his Premier League debut, and settling into European football, Gorré admitted that nothing had quite fulfilled him.
“I said to myself: I want to be the best in every area of my life. Not just the best footballer, but the best at everything. If I achieve that, I’ll feel fulfilled”.
Although he believed he had achieved almost everything,a stable relationship, sound finances and sporting success, he felt that something was still missing.
A turning point came when he witnessed his cousin’s death in the Netherlands.
“I remember being in that room and I witnessed him taking his last breath. I saw his body but he was not there. Where is he? My heart started to ask questions”, recalled Gorré.
His father then said something to him that left a lasting impression: “When you are ready to see, you will see. When you are ready to hear, you will hear”.
The missing piece came via John Bostock, the founder of Ballers in God, a discipleship and evangelism movement within football.
“He asked me: Kenji, are you a Christian? And I say: yes, of course, I was born a Christian. Then he asked me: When did you give your life to Christ? I didn’t understand the question. He asked, 'Have you ever heard the gospel? The good news? I thought he was talking about music”.
During that conversation, he heard the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection applied to his own life for the first time. “I saw something in him that I didn't have. Now I know what it was: the Holy Spirit,” he explained.
Since then, Gorré started to actively search until one day, on his balcony in Madeira, he had what he described as a revelation: “God, you are not alone out there. You are in me”.
Shortly afterwards, he gave his life to Christ: “I stopped putting him on the back seat and I put him in the driving seat. I said, let go, Kenji, and let God, and from that day on, my life changed forever”.
In front of his teammates, Gorré made a clear call to follow Jesus: “He died for you, not just for me. He wants to have a relationship with you”, he said.
Testimony at the biggest footballing event in the world
The scene of the entire team worshipping together before a World Cup is not common in international football.
In this case, it has special symbolic significance: a tiny nation that no one expected to see at the World Cup, chose to prepare for the biggest stage in football with praise and prayer.
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