Curaçao and Suriname have reached the next round of the World Cup qualifying tournament. Dick Advocaat’s Curaçao was too strong for Saint Lucia with a 4-0 victory. Stanley Menzo’s Suriname won 1-0 against Puerto Rico.
For Curaçao, former Eredivisie player Gervane Kastaneer claimed a leading role. The 28-year-old striker opened the scoring after 37 minutes, after which he scored two more goals in the second half. Kastaneer played in the Netherlands for PEC Zwolle, NAC, ADO Den Haag and FC Dordrecht.
The 4-0 was also scored by a former Eredivisie player. Juninho Bacuna, who played for FC Groningen between 2015 and 2018, determined the final score with a well-placed shot. Bacuna has been playing for Al Wehda from Saudi Arabia since 2024.
Thanks to the third qualifying victory in a row, Advocaat and Curaçao secured themselves a spot in the final round of the World Cup qualifying tournament. The same applies to Suriname.
For Menzo’s Suriname, Eredivisie keeper Etiënne Vaessen had a starting place. For a long time, Suriname seemed to be heading for a draw against Puerto Rico, until Jaden Montnor tapped the ball in ten minutes before time.
Both Suriname and Curaçao will end up in a new group stage, in which twelve teams will compete against each other in three pools. The group winners secure a World Cup ticket. The best runners-up also still have a chance of participating in the global final tournament, which will take place in 2026, via play-offs.