In their first home fixture of 2023, Suriname will host Haiti in Group B action at the CONCACAF Nations League on Thursday from Frank Essed Stadion.
Natio are winless after two matchdays in this competition, losing 1-0 versus Cuba in their previous encounter, while the Haitians failed to hang onto an early 2-0 lead against the group leaders Jamaica as they settled for a 2-2 draw.
Match preview
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Playing two sides well below them according to the FIFA rankings to begin this competition (Grenada and Cuba), it must feel like a big disappointment for Suriname to have only claimed a single point thus far.
Aron Winter's men had the bulk of the possession once again on matchday two but could not do much with it, failing to score for the third time in their last four League A encounters.
They head into matchday three still seeking their first victory in League A and return to Frank Essed Stadion, the site of their only point in the top tier of this tournament (1-1 draw with Jamaica in June 2022), but where this team have not won a competitive match since late January 2022 (1-0 versus Barbados).
A-Selektie have never been in front in any of their six League A contests but have claimed at least a point in three of their five Nations League encounters played in Paramaribo.
Suriname are winless in their last seven Nations League encounters when even or behind at the half, conceding beyond the 80th minute in two of their previous three matches played in this competition.
It has been over 44 years since their last triumph against the Haitians (3-0 in October 1978), though they have been able to salvage something from most of their recent matches versus La Selection Nationale, losing only once in their previous six meetings against them (4-2 in January 2017).
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A dream start for Haiti on matchday two ended with some nightmare finishing as Les Grenadiers missed a golden opportunity to climb into a quarter-final position in Group B.
Gabriel Calderon Pellegrino's men gifted the Jamaicans an own-goal early in the second half of that contest then should have put the game to bed, striking the woodwork after an hour of play and missing a breakaway minutes later, before they conceded a penalty seven minutes from time as they wound up dropping two points.
That was only the second time the Haitians had failed to win a Nations League fixture when scoring first, though it is the second successive encounter in all competitions in which they could not hold a lead, losing their final Gold Cup group game this past summer versus Honduras (2-1).
On the positive side, Haiti are unbeaten in 11 successive Nations League encounters, though they have yet to earn a victory in League A, having to settle for a draw in five of their six games.
Their only defeat in League A occurred in September 2019 when they lost 1-0 at Curacao, though Les Grenadiers are unbeaten in nine successive Nations League affairs played outside of their home country.
Haiti have never gone into the interval behind in a single Nations League encounter, though they have only netted once in the second half of a League A fixture (1-1 draw versus Costa Rica in October 2019).
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Team News
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Winter made two changes to the Suriname starting 11 from matchday one to two, with Navajo Bakboord and Mitchell te Vrede beginning the encounter versus Cuba in place of Damil Dankerlui and Diego Bisewar.
Djevencio van der Kust and Jonathan Fonkel were the only players selected to the squad for this upcoming international window without a cap for the senior side, while Renske Adipi and Stefano Denswil have started both Nations League fixtures, their first two appearances for A-Selektie.
Gleofilo Vlijter can move into a tie with Stefano Rijssel for the most all-time goals with the national team as the 24-year-old, who recently joined Doxa Katokopias in Cyprus, has netted 13 times with the senior squad.
On Thursday, the Haitians will be without Djimy Alexis, who was handed a second caution in the 90th minute of their clash with Jamaica, while there were two newcomers in their starting 11 on that occasion, with Steven Seance and Louicius Don Deedson replacing Carnejy Antoine and Derrick Etienne.
Jean-Kevin Duverne was the only player chosen for this window who will be seeking his first appearance with the national team, while Mechack Jerome can earn his 75th cap as a member of Les Grenadiers.
Deedson had a brace within 14 minutes of their previous encounter against Jamaica before an own-goal from Ricardo Ade gave the Reggae Boyz some life, while Johny Placide has conceded multiple strikes in three of his last five Nations League encounters.
Suriname possible starting lineup:
Hahn; Bakboord, Abena, Denswil, Pinas; Bisewar, Leerdam, Adipi; Rigters, Te Vrede, Vlijter
Haiti possible starting lineup:
Placide; Seance, Ade, Metusala, Christian; Alceus, Simonsen, L. Pierre; Pierrot, Nazon, Deedson
We say: Suriname 0-2 Haiti
Suriname have not generated many chances in this competition so far despite playing two teams who do not have nearly as much quality as the one they will be facing on Thursday.
On the other side, Haiti have struggled to keep their composure of late when leading, but they should not have as much trouble containing the attack of Natio.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
