Preview: Honduras vs Suriname - prediction, team news, lineups

Meeting for the first time in over four decades, Honduras and Suriname will face each other in Group B action at the CONCACAF Nations League on Friday at Estadio Nacional Chelato Ucles.

Both sides were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the last Nations League, with La H ousted 4-2 on aggregate by Mexico, and Suriname losing to Canada by a 4-0 cumulative score.

Match preview

Once again, Honduras are beginning another Nations League campaign under new management, with a sense of uncertainty about them.

Jose Francisco Molina was appointed the new boss earlier this year and will hope to collect his first triumph at the helm on Friday, earning a draw and a defeat so far.

The Hondurans have won four of their five Nations League affairs all-time at Estadio Nacional Chelato Ucles, posting a clean sheet in each of those triumphs.

Meanwhile, they boast a 100% record when their opening match of this tournament takes place at home, earning a convincing 4-0 triumph in Tegucigalpa over Trinidad and Tobago in their last Nations League opener.

Honduras have a 100% record in this competition when netting the opening goal but have never won in normal time when conceding first.

Friday will be just their fourth all-time meeting with Suriname, and the Hondurans are unbeaten against them, winning that last contest in a 1985 World Cup qualifier played in Tegucigalpa, 2-1.

After a historic run to the Nations League quarter-finals in 2024-25, Suriname are hungry to surprise everyone again this time around.

The program has come a long way since the last Nations League, qualifying for the 2026 World Cup inter-confederation playoffs and narrowly losing in the semi-finals to Bolivia (2-1), ending their hopes of making the World Cup for the first time.

That said, they will be eager for redemption after missing a chance for direct qualification into last summer's finals by losing their last CONCACAF World Cup qualifier, 3-1 to Guatemala, which led to the resignation of manager Stanley Menzo.

Henk Fraser will hope to maintain that same level of success we saw under the former Ajax goalkeeper, after the West Indies nation shocked everyone by finishing second in their 2024-25 Nations League group with seven points, just one fewer than Costa Rica.

Suriname have never beaten a Central American side in this competition, but they drew Costa Rica 1-1 in the group phase the last time out.

Natio have earned a positive result in two of their three meetings with Honduras all-time, including a 1-1 draw in Honduras during the 1986 World Cup qualification cycle.

Honduras Form (all competitions):

Suriname Form (all competitions):

Team News

Due to a left knee injury, Nixon Cruz will no longer be available to Honduras for this match, with Jorge Alvarez taking his place.

Deiby Flores is their most experienced player in this window, with 60 caps, and Luis Palma is their top scorer, netting seven times for the national team.

On the Suriname side, Djenairo Daniels has been ruled out for this window because of an injury, while Liam van Gelderen is unlikely to feature as he recovers from one himself.

Sheraldo Becker can move into a tie for eighth in all-time goals for the senior squad, while record goalscorer Gleofilo Vlijter is two caps below defender Shaquille Pinas for the second-most in that department.

Honduras possible starting lineup:

Menjivar; Melendez, Maldonado, Vega, Rosales; Arriage, Flores, Ruiz; Palma, Rochez, Vargas

Suriname possible starting lineup:

Vaessen; Dijksteel, Abena, Denswil; Anderson, Jubitana, Bogarde, Pinas; Becker; Kerk, Vlijter

We say: Honduras 2-0 Suriname

The Central American environment is as intimidating as it gets, and we believe that will eventually overwhelm a well-organised Suriname side and enable Honduras to pull ahead.