Suriname counting the minutes until Bolivia
Suriname's Myenty Abena and Joel Piroe talk about the quick connection with Henk ten Cate, support back home, and overcoming injuries.
An observer would have never known that Suriname had only spent a few days together on the training pitch ahead of their FIFA World Cup 2026™ Play-Off Tournament duel with Bolivia on 26 March.
While new head coach Henk ten Cate did hold Zoom meetings with players from different positions, the rubber did not hit the road until they gathered this week in Monterrey, and the players haven’t missed a beat.
“It’s an amazing feeling being here. We are here for something important; we are ready to write history,” said centre-back Myenty Abena to media. “We’ve had a little time together, but we’ve been through it together since the moment [Ten Cate] started. He was getting in contact with every one of us, we knew what he wanted, so being here is not totally new. We are going through it since the moment he knew he was coach.”
While the Suriname setup is nothing new to the 31-year-old Abena, striker Joel Piroe is one of the new faces and was brimming at excitement that his first crack with A Natio comes in a crunch World Cup play-off.
“I’m feeling great and I’m very happy to be here,” said Piroe. “It brings out quite a lot of emotions. I still have plenty of family in Suriname. I know that they are all standing behind us and that I will make them very proud.
“It’s been really easy to adapt. The guys have welcomed me with open arms. The Surinamese style and culture is always very open and loving, so I had nothing to complain.”
The Leeds United man brings a cutting edge to the Suriname strike force, with a strong goalscoring record from English football. With the likes of winger Sheraldo Becker and other playmakers ready to provide service, Piroe believes the elements are there to do damage.
“That’s something that I really look forward to,” said Piroe. “There will be the pressure of the weight of the game as well, but I do think it’s a joy to be playing with each other, and with some other guys we’ll be able to create quite a lot.”
For Mbena, it’s a relief that he is even in Mexico for the play-off. A member of Turkish side Gaziantep, he has had to deal with both hernia surgery and a concussion since the turn of the year. But as one of the longest-tenured players on the Suriname squad, there was no way he was going to miss out on Bolivia.
“It was a rush against the clock,” said Mbena. “I had hernia surgery on 10 January, but here I am thanks to God and the physios who were working with me. It was a tough road, but here we are. I had a concussion as well, I had the stitches removed yesterday, but nothing could stop me.”