The dream of Suriname, which was able to qualify for a World Cup for the first time in the country’s history, has come to an end in Mexico. In a sultry Monterrey, ‘Natio’ lost 2-1 to Bolivia, which will play against Iraq next week for a place in the final tournament this summer.
National coach Henk ten Cate’s first match was one of the most important in the country’s history. Something that the trainer apparently seemed to have little difficulty with in the days before the meeting. At press times he spoke relaxed, in Dutch, Spanish and English, to the en masse of journalists. But the fact that the World Cup dream of the entire country would fall or stand with this match was deeply understood by the selection, Ten Cate emphasized.
Despite the limited number of training moments – many players from Suriname played for their clubs in Europe last weekend – Ten Cate had been preparing for months with his selection, he said. He spoke to players individually via Zoom, and he had separate conversations with specialists for each line, in which he showed them images. But it was not until Monterrey, with daytime temperatures of up to 35 degrees, that the national coach had his selection fully assembled for the first time.
Few Surinamese fans had traveled to Mexico. Flight tickets from Suriname cost up to 2,000 dollars, so mainly Bolivian fans and a number of interested Mexicans came to the Estadio Monterrey. Frank Rijkaard was present to support the Surinamese team and his buddy Henk ten Cate. There were still many empty places in the stadium with room for around 55,000 spectators. It seemed like a good dress rehearsal for FIFA, to go through the protocols one more time before the tournament really starts on June 11.
Football fairy tale
It was also a foretaste of what could await Suriname if they had qualified for the World Cup. There was more press at the training sessions and around the hotel than in recent years during the qualifying cycle. The New York TimesBBC and Spanish-speaking journalists, they all wanted to experience the football fairytale of the most unknown country in South America up close.
Suriname had lost 3-1 during its last qualifying match of the regular cycle, in and against Guatemala, against an opponent who was mainly physically superior to Suriname. Then national coach Stanley Menzo emphasized at the time: “These are players trained in the Netherlands, who are not used to Latin American fighting football.” Bolivia, a team that is mainly infamous for the home games they play in La Paz, which is over 4,000 meters high, was a comparable opponent.
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Ten Cate could have learned important lessons by adding experienced former players Winston Bogarde and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to his staff. With Leeds United striker Joël Piroe, the team gained more scoring power. He was given a starting place, just like premier league players Etienne Vaessen (FC Groningen), Jean-Paul Boëtius and Liam van Gelderen (RKC Waalwijk) and Tjaronn Chery (NEC). On paper, a lot stronger than Bolivia, which had to rely on 21-year-old Miguel Terceros, active in Brazil for Santos.
With an active Chery, captain for the first time, behind wandering striker Piroe and the physical Church, it was mainly Suriname that tried to play football in the beginning. Bolivia did that in a way that could be expected from the Latin American team: pinpricks, occasionally dangerous outbreaks, and here and there a kick or a push to the opponent. Halfway through the first half, just before the drinks break, Etienne Vaessen had to save for the first time on a dangerous Bolivian shot.
The drinks break in the first half seemed a good moment for Ten Cate to put his players on edge. And with effect: after a long ball from the back and then a tight cross from the strong playing Kerk, debutant Piroe was given an almost unmissable opportunity, which he overshot. Piroe also missed a second big chance, again after a pass from Kerk. After a third big chance, which Abena shot into the face of Bolivia’s goalkeeper, Bolivian fans started to grumble.
Self-confidence
Bribri Na Krakti is the motto of the Surinamese team. ‘Believe in your own abilities’ is how the Surinamese translate it. This belief makes you stronger. Despite – or precisely because of – missed opportunities, the Surinamese self-confidence seemed to increase. And when defender Liam van Gelderen scored 1-0 after the break after a scrimmage from close range, the team seemed liberated. Football was played more freely for a while, with quick combinations, and on the sidelines a fanatically coaching Ten Cate, who sometimes had to be calmed down by the referee.
But it turned out that a lot of self-confidence and nice heels will not get you to the World Cup. Whether it was the short preparation in Mexico, the tension or the heat of Monterrey, Surinamese players increasingly suffered from aches and pains. Goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen in particular kept sitting in the grass. Bolivia, which had not created much until then, crept towards the goal and pushed Suriname behind.
Disappointment for Djavan Anderson after Suriname’s loss against Bolivia.
Photo Miguel Sierra / EPA
The much-vaunted faith of the Surinamese team also came under pressure, especially after Bolivia made it 1-1 with an excruciatingly slow punt. Fifteen minutes after Suriname’s heels, Bolivian fans were cheering ole with every successful pass. The stadium started to erupt after the country made it 2-1 via a penalty. The South American game, the time wasting, the rolling on the grass, the Surinamese team could do little in return.
Foundation
A feeling of pride in a World Cup qualifying series, which put Suriname on the map worldwide, will come later for the players. In front of the FIFA cameras, Tjaronn Chery mainly spoke about a deep disappointment that must first be processed.
Whether the 37-year-old captain of the team, one of the most important players on Thursday, will be there next time is extremely uncertain. The same applies to national coach Ten Cate, who came out of retirement for this job. But no one will deny that Natio has a foundation to build on in the coming years.
