Costa Rica faces Suriname in an important CONCACAF Nations League game

Costa Rica will be hoping to get back to winning ways after a disappointing draw against Guatemala last month when it travels to Paramaribo to play Suriname in the CONCACAF Nations League on Friday evening.

Suriname profile

Suriname is located on the northeast coast of South America and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south, French Guiana to the east and Guyana to the west. Suriname, formerly known as Dutch Guiana, is also called the “Little United Nations” due to its great ethnic diversity, which includes notable populations of African, Indian, Javanese, Chinese and indigenous descent.

Although geographically part of South America, the former Dutch colony has been a member of CONCACAF since 1968 due to its strong cultural ties to the Caribbean. Although Suriname has only 640,000 inhabitants, it has produced several top footballers, many of whom have represented the Dutch national team. Notable players with Surinamese roots include Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf and Patrick Kluivert.

Unfortunately, this level of success has rarely been achieved within their own national team, as they have never qualified for a World Cup and have only qualified for three Gold Cups in their history, their best result being a sixth-place finish in the 1977 edition.

In recent years, Suriname has seen several foreign players (mainly from the Netherlands) play for the national team, as the country has an open naturalization and eligibility policy that allows players with Surinamese roots or connections to represent the country. The result is a much higher quality team, with players such as Venice left-back Ridgeciano Haps from Serie A, Myenty Abena, Manfred Ugalde's Spartak Moscow teammate, and Sheraldo Becker from La Liga side Real Sociedad all part of the current squad.

Ironically, however, homegrown striker Gleofilo Vlijter is considered the nation's key player. The OFK Beograd player has scored an impressive 14 goals in 21 international appearances, making him the country's all-time top goalscorer, and is a player Los Ticos defenders need to be wary of. Captain and lucky charm Stefano Denswil will be missing due to a muscle injury.

The home team is currently in third place in the CONCACAF Nations League A table, two places behind La Sele, after losing 1-0 away to Guadeloupe in their last game. In fact, the defeat was the first in over a year, with an unbeaten record stretching to six games. A testament to the work coach Stanley Menzo has done since taking over in March, with an impressive three wins, a draw and a loss in his short tenure. The former Ajax goalkeeper had led Suriname to three straight wins by an aggregate margin of 11-2 before the Guadeloupe result.

Team news from Costa Rica

In the 0-0 draw with Guatemala in September, interim coach Claudio Vivas announced the changes, bringing on Gerald Taylor, Sebastian Acuna, Manfred Ugalde and Warren Madrigal for Haxzel Quiros, Alejandro Bran, Alonso Martinez and Josimar Alcocer. However, given the disappointing performance following these changes, he will likely return to a more tried and tested lineup against Suriname.

Possible from 11

Sequeira; Mitchell, Vargas, Calvo (C), Quiros, Aguilera, Brenes, Lassiter; Alcocer, Ugalde, Madrigal.

Head-to-head story

The two countries have faced each other six times, the first meeting taking place in 1960. Costa Rica emerged victorious each time. The last competition was at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2021, where La Sele came from behind to win thanks to goals from Joel Campbell and Celso Borges. In fact, Suriname suffered their worst ever defeat against Los Ticos in 2008 when they lost 7-0 at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá in the qualifying process for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The game takes place in Ireland. Franklin Essed Stadium in the state capital Paramaribo. The stadium only has a capacity of 3,500 spectators, so expect an intimate atmosphere!

Costa Rica is expected to win this clash comfortably, partly due to the large gap between the two nations in the FIFA rankings, with Suriname currently in 140th place, 91 places behind Los Ticos. But in international football, no away game is easy and with Suriname having signed several high-profile footballers to play for them, La Sele will need to put in a professional performance to emerge triumphant.

Kick-off will take place on October 11 at 8:00 p.m. CDT (20:00 UTC−6) at the Frank Essed Stadium in Paramaribo, Suriname.

By Isaac Roblett