The Guatemalan team will face its Suriname counterpart on Friday 10 October, in the city of Paramaribo, with the aim of playing the third day of the last round of the qualifiers of the Confederation of North America, Central America and the Caribbean Soccer (Concacaf), heading to the World Cup 2026 in Mexico, Canada and the USA.
Those led by the Mexican coach Luis Fernando Tena They will arrive at the Franklin Essed stadium as the last of the Group A, with just one point, after having been defeated by El Salvador on the first day and, later, rescue a draw in Panama City, so they urgently need to add more units.
For its part, the combined Suriboys is in first position in the group, with four units, after tying against the canaleros in Paramaribo and defeat the Cuscatlecos in San Salvador, so they are currently one of the surprises of this round, mainly because Panama and Guatemala were the favorites.
However, in addition to surprising the region by his football performanceSuriname stands out in Concacaf for not belonging to the traditional geographical sectors of the confederation, unlike Guatemala, Panama and El Salvador, which are part of Central America, or Jamaica, Curacao and Trinidad and Tobago, which make up the Caribbean.
Where is Suriname?
The Republic of Suriname, formerly known as the Dutch Guianais a country located in South America which borders the Atlantic Ocean to the north and Brazil to the south. However, although it is located on the northeast coast of South America, the nation is not part of the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol).
After the independence of Suriname from the Netherlands, In November 1975, the Surinamese team became a member of Concacaf for the qualifiers for the World Cup. Argentina 1978mainly due to the “abysmal level differences” between the Suriboys and their South American peers, according to the Conmebol report.
“Based on our level of development, we chose to join Concacaf, where there are countries with different levels of play. We have considered the possibility of participating in the South American tournaments, but, due to our quality“It did not seem appropriate for us to face giants,” reported the Suriname Football Federation.
Since joining Concacaf, almost 49 years old, Suriname has never managed to qualify for the World Cup nor for the olympic tournaments of soccer, although he played his first Concacaf Gold Cup in the 2021 edition, after trying enhance his national team by incorporating players born in the Netherlands.
What is Suriname like?
With approximately 632,638 inhabitants, Suriname is the independent country less populated of South America, mainly because it is a nation with a medium level of human development. Its economy depends largely on its abundant natural resources, such as goldhe oil and agricultural products, according to CNN.
Located north of the equator, more than 90% of Suriname’s territory is covered by tropical rainforests, representing the largest proportion of forest cover worldwide. Given this situation, its capital and largest city, Paramaribowhere more than half of the population is concentrated, continues to reflect the legacy of the Netherlands.
Suriname is the unique sovereign nation outside Europe where the Dutch is the official language, so it is estimated that more than 60% of the population speak it as their mother tongue, despite the fact that the majority of Surinamese are descendants of slaves and workers brought from Africa and Asia by the Dutch in the early 1870s.