There is just nothing like grandma’s cooking.
Apart from sharing the pitch with his international team-mates, it’s what Amsterdam-born Jaden Montnor most looks forward to when he returns to play for Suriname, his mother’s home country. Whether it was a squad full of grandmas cooking up the local specialty, roti, or simply being around family, Suriname were full of verve and vigour in their home Concacaf qualifying matches for the FIFA World Cup 2026™, going unbeaten in five matches and outscoring opponents 10-2.
Despite a disappointing defeat at Guatemala that snatched away their automatic qualification hopes, a second chance awaits in the FIFA Play-off Tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, where they will face Bolivia on 26 March, with the winner advancing to the final against Iraq on 31 March.
The 23-year-old Aris Limassol left winger supplied two of Suriname’s goals in qualifying and is aiming to be part of new head coach Henk ten Cate’s setup for this month’s pivotal play-offs. Montnor recently spoke with FIFA about Suriname’s qualifying campaign, the joy of playing at home, and A Natio’s play-off hopes.
Jaden Montnor: Everybody was really proud of themselves because it’s the first time in the history of the country that we made it this far. We know we could have made a lot of people proud if we had qualified directly, but we were really proud of ourselves, because nobody thought that we would even make it this far, that we would even be in a conversation to qualify for the World Cup. We were really the underdog and I think people still don’t even know about us, but it makes me proud that we could lift the country up.
I think it’s our team bond. We are really strong together. Everybody is together. Everybody wants to fight for each other. And we believe in ourselves. We know the quality we have and we know our strengths. Our team and how we function is that everybody knows their job really well and everybody tries to work for each other.
When you stand up and sing the national anthem, it’s a really proud moment because everybody is singing. I was born in Europe, but when I go to my country, I feel amazing. I come home. You feel all the love you get from everybody. It’s really different. The fans are incredible.
Yes. My grandmother lives there. I have a lot of nieces, a lot of cousins, a lot of aunts and a lot of uncles that still live there. It’s really nice to see them also because they always come to the games.
Yes [chuckles]. They give us a little bit time off and in this time you can do whatever you want, so most of the guys just go to their families, because we don’t see them often. When you are there, it’s really nice to be back home. It’s the best.
To be honest, I don’t really know. Maybe there was a lot of pressure on us because it’s not like we didn’t want to win, but I think it’s more that it didn’t work how we thought it would work. And Guatemala played really well. I have to give them their flowers.
I wasn’t yet with the team when he worked as an assistant [in 2023], so I personally don’t know him, but I’m excited. I’m excited to work with him. I hear a lot of good stories about him. He calls the players, asks them how they feel, defenders, midfielders and attackers, then we just speak with each other and see how we can make this work.
It’s going to be a tough game, of course, but we 100 per cent believe in ourselves. We’re going to make it. Suriname will make the World Cup, 100 per cent.
Yes. Personally, I watched a few games. They are not bad teams, but we know our qualities and we know what we can do as a team, so I think they are going to be two good games.
It would be the best moment in our football’s history. This is a small country with a population of less than 700,000 people. It’s not every day that we qualify. It would be amazing.
It would be a national holiday, but for forever. The whole country is going to be proud. I cannot wait to see it.
I think it’s a boy’s dream that comes true. I always dreamed about playing World Cups, playing at the highest levels. And now with Suriname, we can achieve what nobody thought we could achieve. I think it makes it more beautiful for me because we’re not a well-known country. We’re not a country that has played in ten World Cups. For us to make the World Cup for the first time, it makes it more beautiful to play with this country.
Photo courtesy of Concacaf
