In a showdown for first place in Group F of CONCACAF World Cup 2026 qualifying, Suriname host Puerto Rico on Friday at Dr. Franklin Essed Stadium.
Natio maintained their first place standing with a comfortable 4-0 win over Anguilla on matchday two, putting them two points above the Puerto Ricans, who clobbered the Anguillans 8-0 in their previous qualifier.
Match preview
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Early into the second round of qualification, Suriname are well-positioned to advance to round three for the first time since the 2010 qualifying cycle.
Stanley Menzo's men would assure passage into that stage with a victory on Friday and also give them a chance at ending this phase with a 100% record.
Suriname enter this encounter on a two-match winning run, punching their ticket to the Gold Cup later this month thanks to a pair of 1-0 victories over Martinique.
This side have not lost to a Caribbean opponent since the 2024 CONCACAF Nations League when Guadeloupe beat them 1-0, with Suriname winning six of their previous seven meetings against that region.
They have won their last three World Cup qualifying fixtures on home soil by a combined margin of 13-1, with all three of those triumphs occurring at Dr. Franklin Essed Stadium.
Since June 2024, Natio have a 100% record when netting the opening goal, doing so five times and posting three clean sheets over that span.
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It has been smooth sailing for Puerto Rico to this point of their qualification cycle as they seek to make the third round for the first time this century.
Charlie Trout's men are one of only three teams in round two of CONCACAF qualifying that have yet to concede a goal, with the others being Guatemala and Costa Rica.
Los Boricuas are seeking their first triumph of 2025 in what will be their fourth match, collecting two positive results so far this year.
While World Cup qualifying has started well for them, they are struggling to score away from home, going goalless in their previous two competitive fixtures as the visiting team.
The Puerto Ricans are unbeaten in their last two World Cup qualifying fixtures as the visitors, having conceded no goals in either of those matches, dating back to June 2021.
Friday will be the third time they face Suriname on the international stage, and El Hurcan Azul have yet to lose a match against them, earning a 1-1 draw in the 2004 Caribbean Cup, and winning 4-3 on penalties in a 2023 Gold Cup qualifier.
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Team News
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Three Suriname players will seek their first caps with the senior squad on Friday as Jean-Paul Boetius, Yannick Leliendal and Jonathan Fonkel all earned call-ups.
In their previous qualifier, Tyrone Conraad notched a brace, Shaquille Pinas had one off the bench, with Anguilla's Steven Austin rounding out the scoring with an own-goal as Etienne Vaessen stopped one shot for a clean sheet.
Trout made two changes to the Puerto Rican starting 11 from matchday one to two, with Colby Quinones and Beto Ydrach coming into the lineup for Zarek Valentin and Juan O'Neill.
Jeremy de Leon and Wilfredo Rivera had braces in their blowout win over Anguilla, with the other goals coming from Ydrach, Leandro Antonetti, Darren Rios and Nicolas Cardona, while Joel Serrano made one stop in the shutout.
Suriname possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Dijksteel, Abena, Pinas, Van der Kust; Montnor, Pherai, Paal, Jubitana; Becker, Vlijter
Puerto Rico possible starting lineup:
Serrano; Quinones, Calderon, Cardona, Paris; Diaz, Ydrach, O'Neill; De Leon, Antonetti, Rivera
We say: Suriname 2-0 Puerto Rico
While Puerto Rico are off to a strong start in qualifying, they have not faced many formidable opponents in this region, and Suriname's experience against elite CONCACAF sides should serve them well on Friday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
