Veteran Henk ten Cate has been appointed as the new coach of Suriname with a view to the World Cup play-offs in March, the country’s football association announced on Sunday.
Ten Cate, 71, is a former coach of Ajax Amsterdam and has worked as an assistant at Barcelona and Chelsea.
The Dutchman will take charge of Suriname’s bid to qualify for the first-ever World Cup when they meet Bolivia in a play-off match in Monterrey on March 26.
If it wins that match, it will meet Iraq on March 31 to determine a place in the 2026 finals. It then goes to Group I with France, Norway and Senegal and plays the matches in Boston, Philadelphia and Toronto.
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Suriname had the opportunity to qualify automatically last month, but a 1-3 defeat in the final CONCACAF Zone Group A tie in Guatemala saw Panama leapfrog in the standings and take top spot, giving Suriname a final chance in the interconfederation play-offs in March.
The defeat in Guatemala prompted coach Stanley Menzo, a former Dutch international goalkeeper, to resign and Suriname moved quickly to appoint his replacement.
“The SVB has full confidence that his expertise, tactical insight and leadership can take the team to the highest level,” the Surinamese association said about Ten Cate, who last worked in football in 2023 as an assistant to Surinamese national coach Aron Winter.
Published on December 14, 2025
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