While the Dutch national team in Poland (with three Surinamese Dutchmen in the starting line-up) took office for the Nations League, the national team of Suriname played the first of two exhibition games in the Netherlands.
In Almere against Nicaragua, a 1-0 lead was given away just before time, but a header by substitute Jeredy Hilterman was good for the win (2-1) so that the new interim coach Aron Winter could start his period as national coach with a win.
‘Natio’, as the team is nicknamed, has gathered under interim national coach Aron Winter in the Amsterdam area to prepare for matches in March for the CONCACAF Nations League (the Nations League of the Central American Football Association.
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After Dean Gorré and Stanley Menzo, Winter is the third national coach in a short time
And in the atmospheric stadium of Almere City, where a brass band escorted the spectators to their seats, they were almost never as busy as on this Thursday evening in September. Suriname (143rd in the world ranking) was almost the entire match stronger than the opponent who is four places higher in the FIFA world ranking. Via ex-Feyenoord player Mitchell te Vrede, who now plays in Abu Dhabi, the team took the lead after just half an hour.
Suriname entered Almere with various (former) premier league players such as Ridgeciano Haps, Florian Jozefzoon and captain Shaquille Pinas. Warner Hahn was on target. Unfortunately, Tjaronn Chery, who scored in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain for Maccabi Haifa last week, and Bundesliga sensation Sheraldo Becker were not there in Almere.
Aron Winter (55) is with the Surinamese national team in the Netherlands to play two exhibition games. The successor of Stanley Menzo is interim national coach of ‘Natio’, which includes many Dutch Surinamese. “I am honored to be the national coach.”
The practice matches must bring unity to Natio, where a professionalization has been implemented for several years now, so that Dutch Surinamese can now also play for the national team. But the practice matches (it still plays against PEC Zwolle on Monday) must also convince national coach Aron Winter to stay connected to the association longer. Winter is the third national coach in a short time after Dean Gorré and Stanley Menzo. The 84-time international for the Dutch national team and the federation decide after the practice matches whether he will also sit on the bench in March during the Nations League match against Mexico.
The enthusiastically excited crowd saw former ADO Den Haag player Shaquille Pinas hit the inside of the post half an hour before the end in the match led by referee Serdar Gözübüyük. In the final phase, Almere striker Jeredy Hilterman became the goldcrest for the overjoyed public, who almost celebrated the victory in the friendly match as a victory in an official World Cup match.
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