Suriname beat El Salvador in qualifiers marred by racist abuse | OneFootball

Dhoraso Klas scored at 81 minutes in Suriname's victory over El Salvador by 2 to 1 away from home on Monday, in a match for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers marked by alleged racist chants.

Suriname, which has never qualified for the World Cup, knocked El Salvador off the top of Group A in the final round of the CONCACAF (North American) qualifiers.

It was Suriname's first win over El Salvador since 1968.

Reports of Racist Chants

Afterwards, coach Stanley Menzo and captain Shaquille Pinas criticized some home fans for racist chants while their team celebrated the victory.

“You need to ask yourselves why your fans are shouting ‘negro’ at my players,” Menzo told reporters.

Pinas suggested that the same thing happened in a previous World Cup Qualifier, again in San Salvador, in June, but said the team chose not to speak out at the time.

“If you say negro, monkey, that kind of thing, I think it's not funny,” said Pinas.

Suriname's Campaign in the Group

Suriname, which debuted with a goalless draw at home against Panama, broke a streak of eight winless games against El Salvador and reached four points, with the hosts totaling three.

In the other Group A match of the night, hosts Panama and Guatemala drew 1 to 1, leaving both winless after two of the group's six matches.

Suriname's only previous win over El Salvador came in December 1968, in a match for the 1970 Mexico World Cup Qualifiers.

How the Match Went

Suriname opened the scoring 1 to 0 at 12 minutes on Monday, with a header from Radinio Balker, a Dutch defender playing for Huddersfield Town in England.

Brayan Gil appeared to have equalized for El Salvador at 29 minutes, but the chance was ruled out after a video review.

The Salvadorans finally made it 1 to 1 with an own goal by Surinamese defender Anfernee Dijksteel.

But Klas hit a right-footed shot from the right side to win the match.

New Format for the Concacaf Qualifiers

The final stage of the CONCACAF qualifiers was changed this year because regional powerhouses Mexico, Canada, and the United States will be the co-hosts of next year's World Cup.

The last 12 teams were divided into three groups of four, with the group winners in round-robin matches until November advancing to the World Cup and the two runners-up advancing to playoffs with teams from other confederations.

Draw Between Panama and Guatemala

In Panama City, Guatemala opened the scoring at 35 minutes, with a right-footed shot from Oscar Santis from the middle of the area.

Carlos Harvey, however, equalized for Panama at 37 minutes, with a header after an assist from Eric Davis.

Panama extended its unbeaten streak against Guatemala to 15 matches in all competitions since 2005, with a fourth draw and 11 wins.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.