Caption: President of Suriname Jenny Simons and vice-president Gregory Rusland, centre, celebrate with the ‘Natio’ players in the locker room after their victory over El Salvador
PARAMARIBO – Suriname stands on the brink of an unprecedented achievement after qualifying for its first-ever FIFA World Cup, following a dominant 4–0 victory over El Salvador on Thursday night at the sold-out Dr Ir Franklin Essed Stadion.
The emphatic win keeps ‘Natio’, as the national team is affectionately known, unbeaten and atop Group A in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying campaign.
With one match remaining, Suriname and Panama both have nine points, but the former leads the group with a superior goal difference.
With Panama edging Guatemala 3-2 on Thursday, both El Salvador and Guatemala have been eliminated from World Cup qualification.
Suriname only needs now to defeat Guatemala in their final game on Tuesday to qualify top of the group and book their spot at next year’s World Cup, while Panama would have to win by a large margin against El Salvador.
Should Suriname qualify, they would become the lowest-ranked nation ever to reach a World Cup.
Currently 126th in the FIFA rankings, Natio would surpass the record set by North Korea, which qualified for the 2010 World Cup while ranked 105th.
Knowing the importance of a victory, Suriname approached the match with visible confidence and quickly seized control.
El Salvador, ranked 94th in the world, struggled to contain Suriname’s fluid attacks and almost found themselves trailing midway through the first half when Tjaronn Chery struck the crossbar with a curling effort.
Moments before halftime, the 37-year-old Chery got the breakthrough, converting his first international goal from the penalty spot in the 44th minute after being brought down in the box.
Richonell Margaret then punished a defensive blunder in the 74th minute to fire in Suriname’s second, and less than two minutes later, he doubled his tally by finishing off a precise cross from Ridgeciano
Haps.
The home crowd erupted once more when late substitutes Jay-Roy Grot and Dhoraso Moreo Klas combined for the fourth goal in the 83rd minute, with Klas placing the final touch.
The importance of the win was highlighted when Suriname President Jenny Simons and vice-president Gregory Rusland, who were among the dignitaries in attendance, visited the players in the locker room to congratulate them on the milestone victory and to encourage them ahead of the decisive match in Guatemala.
Defender Djavan Anderson described “a feeling of release, relief and, above all, pride,” while
Chery reflected on fulfilling a late-career dream.
“If someone had told me two years ago I’d still have a chance of playing at a World Cup, I would’ve called them crazy,” Chery said.
Despite the victory, head coach Stanley Menzo maintained that the job was not yet done.
“We must stay aware that there is one more match to play. We want to win there as well, to make sure qualification is in our own hands,” he said. (CMC)
