Veteran Dutch coach Dick Advocaat, who led Curacao to their first World Cup qualification, has stepped down as manager months before the finals because of his daughter’s ill health, Reuters reported. 

Fred Rutten, 63, will take over and lead the Caribbean island nation to the World Cup, the Curacao Football Federation said on Monday.

"I have always said that family comes before football,” Advocaat said in a statement. "This is therefore a natural decision. That said, I will greatly miss Curacao, its people, and my colleagues. I consider qualifying the smallest nation in the world for the World Cup one of the highlights of my career. I am proud of my players, staff, and board members who believed in us."