Suriname eye World Cup spot by going Dutch

For years the small South American country of Suriname, a former Dutch colony, has been instrumental in producing some of the Netherlands' best footballers, from Frank Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit to Clarence Seedorf.

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PARAMARIBO - For years the small South American country of Suriname, a former Dutch colony, has been instrumental in producing some of the Netherlands' best footballers, from Frank Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit to Clarence Seedorf.

Now, nearly 40 years after Gullit inspired the Dutch to victory at the 1988 European Championship, their only major trophy, the boot is on the other foot.

Suriname are banking on Dutch players of Surinamese origin to help them achieve their wildest dream - booking a spot at the World Cup Finals for the first time when it comes to North America in June 2026.

"It's a dream of the nation and we hope that we can fulfil that dream," the president of the Suriname football federation, Soerin Mathoera, told AFP in a recent interview in the Surinamese capital Paramaribo.

The tropical country of 600,000 people situated on the north-east coast of South America, ranked 137th in the world by Fifa, looked on with pride as its children's children helped revive the fortunes of the struggling Oranje in the late 1980s.

After failing to qualify for the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, a fabled trio of Surinamese-origin - Rijkaard, Gullit and Aron Winter - formed the nucleus of a new Dutch dream team.