Nagelsmann once dropped him — Brenet's road to a Curaçao World Cup reunion

Curaçao is one of the World Cup’s more unusual participants: with a population of just 156,000 it is the smallest country ever to qualify, yet its team draws heavily on a larger pool of players through historic ties to the Netherlands. Only one of the 26 players in the current squad was born on the island — Tahith Chong — and six squad members have played in Germany, including Gervane Kastaneer, Riechedly Bazoer, Roshon van Eijma, Jürgen Locadia and Joshua Brenet.

Brenet moved from PSV Eindhoven to Hoffenheim in 2018, in part at the instigation of Julian Nagelsmann. He struggled at TSG: after missing a video session before Hoffenheim’s first Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk, Nagelsmann dropped him from the squad.

Although he was later reinstated, appearances were sporadic; successors Alfred Schreuder and Sebastian Hoeneß gave him little opportunity and he was eventually relegated to the reserves before leaving on a free transfer to Twente Enschede in 2022.

Curaçao

curaçao, world cup, joshua brenet, julian nagelsmann, hoffenheim, psv eindhoven, twente enschede, champions league, shakhtar donetsk, reserves