🇸🇷🇯🇲🌎 Everything to watch during March's international window
Suriname + Jamaica go for the World Cup, the qualified teams prepare & some soccer Mad Libs come to life!
The last window before the World Cup is here.
But while the six qualified Concacaf teams are making their final preparations, two more teams from the region are in Mexico trying to clinch a place in the tournament and bring Concacaf’s representation to eight.
And, for most of the region, the next senior men’s World Cup they could make is in 2030 - and some realize that that may not be realistic given their current situation. Many of those teams are in action in the FIFA Series, which has created delightful soccer Mad Libs of matches - Aruba beat Macau in Rwanda, Trinidad and Tobago squares off with Gabon in Tashkent.
From most important to least important, here’s a look at everything going on during this international break:
The must-wins
Suriname meets Bolivia this evening (why does one of these games kick off at 4 p.m. local and the other at 9 p.m. local?) with Jamaica playing New Caledonia.
Both Concacaf nations go into the intercontinental playoff in similar situations: The frustration of missing out on the top spot in their World Cup qualification group led to the manager parting ways with the federation. But both new managers have plenty in common with their predecessors - and little time to truly put their stamp on the teams.
In fact, that’s what Henk ten Cate emphasized speaking to the press in Monterrey.
While Suriname and its largely Europe-based roster has had very little time with the new manager, Bolivia has been in camp almost the entire year. The league schedule there was modified, and Bolivia has played Panama, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago in non-FIFA friendly matches. The majority of the squad has been training in Monterrey since March 16.
“I think it is (a disadvantage), and our players come from different countries. Some got in Sunday, others Monday. One on Tuesday,” Ten Cate said. “So, it’s not the optimal preparation, but we’ve got to do it.”
The build-up generally has not been ideal for the Natio. In addition to not being able to play any friendly matches, Suriname also hoped to have more players representing it.
One new recruit, Joel Piroe, may start, such are his capabilities in the attack. Melayro Bogarde also arrives, playing regularly in the midfield for LASK in Austria. However, there were visions of Danilho Doekhi dominating at the back dancing in the heads of Suriname fans.
The 27-year-old Union Berlin center back wants to represent Suriname. Despite having a case similar to others who have been able to represent another country after having suited up for the Netherlands, though, his switch was denied by FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport is yet to rule on the case.
In fact, rather than a wave of more recruits, things may go in the other direction.
Teams in the Netherlands have started to challenge the eligibility of Indonesia internationals to play in the Eredivisie - with Dutch law reportedly requiring anyone who acquires a new nationality to renounce their Dutch citizenship.
Suriname’s sports passport was supposed to be an elegant solution to get around that problem (and also saw existing Surinamese laws modified at the highest level), but there now are rumors players who represent Suriname also could be targeted - something that could cause huge problems if they are found to have worked in the Netherlands illegally.
Ten Cate said it was an unwelcome distraction, with many players spending time at the hotel trying to sort their situation out or read up on the law rather than prepare for the game. But none of that will matter when the opening whistle blows at 4 p.m. local time this afternoon. What will matter
Suriname attacker Sheraldo Becker told Mexican reporters that the Concacaf team looks better on paper than Bolivia, but “the execution must be flawless” to get past the South American squad and into the next game.
Other Suriname coverage:
My ESPNFC piece from Paramaribo in October
This mini-doc I made while I was there:
Jamaica trying to deliver for country, deal with pressure
How acutely did Jamaica manager Rudolph Speid feel the Reggae Boyz’ failure to make the World Cup on the final day against Curacao?
“Last year, we had two catastrophes: One was a hurricane that decimated half the island, the next one was in the national stadium in November when we failed to qualify straight,” he said Wednesday.
Well, then.
The good news for the soccer team is they have a chance to get to North America, first with a win against New Caledonia, who has charmed reporters in Mexico by revealing that many of them work a second job - including the coach who is a PE teacher. Then, it will meet the DR Congo. The first game, though, could be a stumbling block for Jamaica if it isn’t careful.
“There’s no favorite in football any more. You could have 85 percent possession and still lose. We don’t know them at all. They’re an unknown quantity,” Speid said. “We’ve never seen them play live and have just a few matches on video we’ve been able to watch. So, tomorrow, we’re going to try to be adaptable to what they do and be adaptable in our own way.”
Jamaica learned the hard way not to overlook any opponent. Steve McClaren’s error came in a conservative approach during a trip to Trinidad and Tobago on the penultimate matchday, meaning Curacao needed only to grind out a draw to get to the World Cup.
If the Reggae Boyz are going to have a chance to return to the tournament for the first time since 1998, they need to go into tonight’s match at the Estadio Akron and take it seriously.
“As a team we are confident, but as we all know in the game in football it’s not the ranking that shows. It’s whatever you do on the day,” said defender Richard King. “That’s what we’re focused on.”
Other Jamaica coverage:
This MLSsoccer piece on Andre Blake
This newsletter story, also on Andre Blake:
The tune-ups
🇺🇸 After a successful fall, the United States is ramping up the difficulty level in a pair of matches in Atlanta. Belgium comes first with Portugal visiting next.
Mauricio Pochettino found a formation that worked for the team, and he found several pieces who will fit in nicely. Now, though, he needs to work out where certain players are going: Is Weston McKennie playing next to Christian Pulisic or more withdrawn in the midfield? Will Alex Freeman be a Sergino Dest replacement or once again go into the back three? And speaking of the defense, could a center-back slot be up for grabs?
U.S. fans will get a good indication of the Argentine manager’s thinking in these two games.
🇲🇽 El Tri meets Portugal in Mexico City and travels to Chicago to face Belgium.
I’ll dig in deeper Saturday in a full newsletter ahead of Mexico’s return to the Azteca.
🇨🇦 Iceland and Tunisia serve as the tests for Canada, which also has added attacker Marcelo Flores and forward Bim Pepple to its usual mix. Perhaps more key are the injury returns of center back Moise Bombito and outside back Alistair Johnston.
Well, sort of return. Bombito hasn’t played for his club, Nice, since the ankle injury he suffered in October and wasn’t present on the training ground for Canada’s first sessions. If he’s fit, though, he’ll start at the World Cup. Johnston also hasn’t made his own injury return but reportedly trained normally with Canada.
With Alphonso Davies not on this roster because of a hamstring injury, getting into April healthy seems far more important than any concepts Canada will refine this month.
🇭🇹 The big story for Haiti is the presence of Wilson Isidor in camp. The Sunderland attacker, born in France and a former youth international, long had been a target for Haiti, with fans inundating his social media accounts asking him to suit up for Les Grenadiers.
That moment is coming in friendly matches with Tunisia and Iceland, games in Toronto that should provide a good test and likely will see a number of fans come from Montreal and surrounding areas to cheer on Haiti. Edit: The March 31 game against Iceland apparently will be closed-door because of operational challenges?
“We can help to build the country’s future and try to help those going through difficult times,” Isidor said in his message announcing his decision to join Haiti.
While it feels that a lot of hopes are being put on one new player, it’s fair to remember just how influential Jean-Ricner Bellegarde was during qualification, elevating the performances of some of Haiti’s “old guard” and becoming a national hero as he helped clinched the nation’s first World Cup qualification since 1974.
🇨🇼 It is a crucial window for Curacao, who is playing its first matches under new manager Fred Rutten. Rutten took over for Dick Advocaat, who stepped down because of family health matters - but did accept a new role as an adviser for Feyenoord shortly after.
Rutten needs to get settled in games against China and Australia, but some sand already is shifting.
After being named in the initial squad, attacker Jürgen Locadia along with defender Deveron Fonville and Armando Obispo pulled out. I’m most concerned by Obispo’s absence. His addition to the team in the final round of World Cup qualification gave Curacao something it had long lacked, a physical center-back presence, and having the defensive anchor in the preparation games would’ve helped.
Obispo played the entire match in PSV’s last outing, and the Curacao federation statement said there also may be personal reasons, in addition to injuries, that the trio are not present.
More important things happen than international friendlies, but Rutten still has a challenge getting his group up to speed with a player who looks like a Curacao cornerstone.
🇵🇦 Well, I say Curacao has the most interesting preparation, but Panama may give them a run for their money. The Central Americans are in South Africa, playing a pair of matches against their fellow World Cup qualifiers - one in Durban and one in Cape Town.
That doesn’t seem ideal, but Panama boss Thomas Christiansen said he thinks it may be the best preparation.
“There are a lot of similarities with Ghana, who we’ll see in the World Cup, and that was the goal,” the manager said in Panama. “Playing two games against them also lets us change ideas, positions, players and that’s what we want.”
The series
FIFA Series matches already are underway, with the quirky “Oops, all U.S. territories” group hosted in Puerto Rico in action Wednesday.
Both Concacaf teams will meet each other in the ‘final’ after getting victories over teams from other confederations. The U.S. Virgin Islands rode a strong start to a 5-2 win over American Samoa, getting early goals from Joshua Ramos and a pair from Toryn Penders. Former newsletter subject Jannick Liburd made the trip from Denmark and scored in the second half.
Puerto Rico went into its game with Guam as heavy favorites and delivered in interim manager Jay Mims’ debut. After a scoreless first half, Wilfredo Rivera and Ricardo Rivera put in flurry of goals around the hour mark, and Leandro Antonetti capped the win from the penalty spot in the 76th minute.
🇦🇼 Meanwhile in Rwanda, Aruba got off to a flying start, scoring the first four goals in a 4-1 win over Macao. Jaybrien Romano’s first half double set the tone, but an outside-the-box stunner from 19-year-old Conner van Kilsdonk stole the show. Hopefully someone will post a shareable video somewhere.
They await the winner of Tanzania and Liechtenstein.
🇱🇨 St. Lucia will go all the way to Azerbaijan for one match against the hosts. Oman originally was set to participate but had to pull out because of the war in the Middle East. Donavan Phillip is on the roster, with the Colorado Rapids draftee in line for his first-ever senior cap.
🇰🇳 St. Kitts and Nevis has a game in Indonesia against Indonesia, one that seems like a challenge. Still, Marcelo Serrano has brought in his strongest side with familiar names like goalkeeper Julani Archibald and Romaine Sawyers in the mix.
🇬🇩 There has been some interesting recruitment work happening in Grenada. Belgium-based D’Margio Wright-Phillips, Shaun’s son, made his Spice Boys debut in the fall. Their roster for matches in Rwanda includes DMWP but also Tottenham Hotspur prospect Ellis Lehane, a 19-year-old forward.
🇹🇹 And after Derek King’s debut as interim manager in Bolivia, the Soca Warriors now are preparing to meet Venezuela - which T&T essentially neighbors - in Uzbekistan. They’ll also play Gabon.
It’s an attack-heavy squad for King, with a dozen forward players and just three center backs.
Don’t forget about the Concacaf Series, launched by the confederation to fill in the gaps for teams that weren’t qualified for the World Cup.
The top teams in the competition are the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Cuba and Martinique. Those sides have brought in their strongest teams - with the exception of Cuba, which appears to continue to punish goalkeeper Raiko Arozarena for opting out of a game in Cuba that he felt would put his U.S. immigration status into question.
But, as always, interesting things are happening below the top line, too. Anguilla’s young manager Ewan Gunter brought back Dutch-born Jan-Willem Tesselaar in his team to meet the Bahamas and the BVI, his first call for the Spinning Dolphins since 2022 (though brother Brian-Paul is absent).
Dominica called in three foreign-based players with 2025 Orlando City draft pick Titus Sandy Jr and Canada-born attacking midfielder Nicholas Harve both added to the team. That’s a small thing for some squads, but progress for Dominica, currently led by Scottish boss Kurt Herd.
Will pass along more notes from this group Monday in the Conca-catch-up for premium subscribers.
The random
🇧🇲 An inexperienced Bermuda squad stood in as a team playing in the style of Jamaica for the DR Congo. Just five Gombey Warriors with more than a dozen caps were named to the roster, and just three of those players started at the Estadio Jalisco.
It was interim manager Maurice Lowe leading the team, with Canadian coach Michael Findlay having left Bermuda - apparently by mutual consent - earlier this month.
The young team held tough, however, falling 2-0 to a Congo team that started players based in the Premier League, Ligue 1 and La Liga, among other leagues.
🇳🇮 Then, there’s Nicaragua.
Reports in that country emerged that current interim manager Otoniel Olivas attempted to get a U.S. visa, both to visit his daughter who lives here and for planned friendly matches this summer. But that request was denied.
During the 2018 protests against the government of Daniel Ortega in the country, Olivas allegedly took part in attacks against protesting students in Esteli. As I wrote after my trip there in 2024, Nicaraguan sports organizations including Real Esteli, where Olivas coached, are heavily linked to the government.
The links to the current government and his participation in physical assaults in street clashes are being cited as the reasons behind the denial, though I have no way to confirm that.
This month’s friendly, a trip to Krasnodar to face Russia can’t be helping his case, but that’s what is on tap for the Azul y Blanco on Friday. Forward Bancy Hernandez missed Saprissa’s most recent game but made the trip. Ariagner Smith was not called up despite playing his club soccer in nearby Kazakhstan and being listed on the initial call-up.
That’s a wrap. Be back tomorrow with thoughts on Suriname and Jamaica - hopefully looking forward to their next game and potential World Cup qualification!
As I mentioned a couple weeks ago on Bluesky, I got married this weekend. And one of the fun activities my wife came up with for our guests was a Mad Libs! So this is super fun. (She even put an "I promise to listen to you talk about soccer" into her vows.)
I also share Tom's question. I know Suriname isn't in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and I don't think has been recently, but are there differences between it and the Dutch East Indies, I mean Indonesia, that would protect Suriname internationals from having to get EU work permits?
Superb post. Any links that explain the Surname - Netherlands citizenship issue in more detail?