Going for Gold

Congratulations to Navajo Bakboord who qualified for the Gold Cup with Suriname last night. It is only the second time Suriname has reached the finals and they will be hoping to have a strong impact in North America this June. 

‘Natio’, as the national team is nicknamed, beat Martinique 1-0 away from home last night to go along with their 1-0 first leg win on Friday. Navajo played the full 90 minutes in both legs and was impressive in each. He now looks sure to be selected for Ajax legend Stanley Menzo’s squad for the finals in June.

 

 

Bakboord (right) celebrates Friday night's winning goal with scorer Gyrano Kerk

 

The CONCACAF Gold Cup takes place every two years and is the continental equivalent of the European Championships or Copa America. Since it began in 1991, it has only ever been won by Mexico (nine times), the US (seven) or Canada (once). This year’s finals begin on the 14th of June with most fixtures taking place in the western part of the United States. The final is scheduled for July the 6th at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. 

 

Why are Suriname in CONCACAF?

 

So, what are Suriname doing in a competition for countries from North and Central America? Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname are rare cases of nations belonging to a football confederation located on a different geographic continent to their own. The three South American countries are culturally connected to the Caribbean region, but also joined because of the level of competition being more suited to them. 

Holders Mexico will be a top seed along with co-hosts USA and Canada with the final place taken by Panama. Pot Two contains Costa Rica, Jamaica, Honduras and Haiti. Suriname are in Pot Three along with Trinidad & Tobago, El Salvador and Guatemala while the fourth seeds are Curacao, the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe and invited guests Saudi Arabia. 

The tournament has a tradition of inviting a guest so Brazil have participated three times along with Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and countries preparing to host World Cups – South Korea, South Africa, Qatar and now Saudi Arabia. The draw will be held on the 10th of April. Venues include the home stadia of NFL teams the Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, LA Rams and Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals.

 

 

Bakboord (right) with last night's scorer Immanuel Pherai

 

Leeds United striker Joel Piroe turned down a first international call-up to the Surinamese national team this month in order to focus on winning promotion with Daniel Farke’s men. However, it is expected that he will join up with Bakboord and co for the finals in June. Piroe is the Championship’s second-highest scorer this season with 15 goals.

Other players involved in the Suriname team include QPR’s Kenneth Paal, Ridgeciano Haps of Venezia and Dutch Eredivisie players Liam van Gelderen and Richonell Margaret of RKC Waalwijk. Royal Antwerp striker Gyrano Kerk scored the all-important winner in the first leg against Martinique while Immanuel Pherai of Hamburg poked home the goal that wrapped up the tie last night. 

The Gold Cup’s group stage runs until the 24th of June with quarter-finals taking place on the 28th and 29th. Waterford’s schedule for June sees the Blues travel to Sligo on the 14th, hosting Bohemians (20th) and Shelbourne (23rd) before travelling to Tallaght to face Shamrock Rovers on the 27th. ‘Nav’ is likely to miss all of those games, which are also before the summer transfer window opens, so the Blues may be short-handed for a while.