TheSuriname national football team (Dutch:Surinaams voetbalelftal) representsSuriname in men's internationalfootball. The team is controlled by theSurinaamse Voetbal Bond (English:Surinamese Football Association), which is a member ofCONCACAF.
Suriname has participated in the qualifying matches for theFIFA World Cup since1962, but has never qualified for the finals. Suriname's strongest showing in World Cup qualification was the campaign for the1978 finals, when the national team reached thefinal group stage.
Suriname also came second in CONCACAF qualifying for the1964 Olympics, behind qualifiersMexico and third in qualifying for the1980 Olympics, behind qualifiersCosta Rica andUnited States. The US then boycotted the Moscow Olympics, and were replaced byCuba in the football tournament, after Suriname opted to boycott the games as well.
In 2008 Suriname advanced to the group stage of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying despite using only local players. With their two-leg victory over neighboursGuyana, Suriname moved on to faceHaiti,Costa Rica, andEl Salvador in thethird round.
Inspired by the success of teams withdual nationals, especiallyAlgeria,SVB president John Krishnadath submitted a proposal to the national assembly to allow dual citizenship for athletes with the then-goal of reaching the2018 FIFA World Cup finals.[6] In order to support this project, a team with professional players of Surinamese origin was assembled and played an exhibition match on 26 December 2014 at theAndre Kamperveen Stadion. The project is managed byNordin Wooter andDavid Endt, who have set up a presentation and sent invitations to 100 players of Surinamese origin, receiving 85 positive answers.Dean Gorré was named to coach this special selection.FIFA supported the project and granted insurance for the players and clubs despite the match being unofficial.[7]
As of May 2015, Gorré was the national team coach who oversaw both the official and unofficial teams. The professional team consisted of players willing to commit to Suriname if the dual-citizenship bill was approved, and played two international matches. In 2016,Roberto Gödeken became the head coach once again. Inqualification for the 2017 Caribbean Cup, Suriname secured a spot in the third round, but finished second behindJamaica in their group. However, as one of the three best second-place finishers, Suriname advanced to faceTrinidad and Tobago and Haiti in the 5th place play-off. Suriname won the match against Trinidad and Tobago, but lost against Haiti, hence once again a failed attempt to make an appearance in the Concacaf Gold Cup.
In 2018Dean Gorré signed a new 2 year contract with the SVB to manage Natio once more. His first game ended in a draw againstDominica in Nations League qualifiers. Gorré became not only the head coach of the senior team, but also oversees the youth teams and also has a helping hand in the introduction of a professional league in the country. Gorré also managed to arrange training camps for the national team in theNetherlands, where Natio have tested their strength against professional and amateur football clubs.
In November 2019, it was announced that a so-called sports passport would allow Dutch professional footballers from the Surinamese diaspora to represent Suriname.[8] On 19 November, Suriname qualified for the2021 Gold Cup with 2–1CONCACAF Nations League win overNicaragua.[9] It will be their debut in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and their first appearance in a CONCACAF tournament since 1985.
In the2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Suriname played againstCosta Rica,Jamaica andGuadeloupe inGroup C. Suriname lost its first two matches against Jamaica and Costa Rica, but ended third in the group following a 2–1 win against Guadeloupe.
In late July, the Surinamese Football Association terminated the contract of Dean Gorré after failing to reach Natio's objectives.[10]After the termination of Gorré, SVB announced that they have hired the services ofBrian Tevreden's Tevreden Group. The Tevreden Group are involved in the search for a new national coach and the recruitment and selection of Surinamese-Dutch professionals who want to play for Natio.[11]
UnderStanley Menzo's leadership, Suriname advances to its second CONCACAF Gold Cup (albeit its fourth continental tournament) in2025 in the United States. Matched againstMexico,Costa Rica, and theDominican Republic, it is defeated by the former two, drawing 0–0 with the Dominicans.
During the2026 FIFA World Cup qualification third round, Suriname led Group A for most of the campaign, which would have earned them a first-ever World Cup berth.[12] However, a 3–1 away loss toGuatemala, their only goal coming via a stoppage-time own goal, dropped them to a runners-up spot behindPanama. They still finished ahead ofHonduras on goals scored as one of best two group runners-ups and qualified for theinter-confederation play-offs.[13]
INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary/Standby squad RET Retired from the national team SUS Serving suspension WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.