The Leeds United forward switched national allegiance in January
Isaac Johnson Leeds United reporter
09:59, 19 Mar 2026
Joel Piroe's debut will come in a World Cup play-off match
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Joel Piroe's debut will come in a World Cup play-off match(Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Leeds United striker Joel Piroe has earned his first international call-up for Suriname and is set to make his debut in next week’s World Cup play-off campaign.
Piroe switched international allegiance to the South American country, for whom he qualifies to play through his father, in January. The 26-year-old featured for the Netherlands' national youth teams up until the under-20s but was never called up by the senior side.
Suriname - whose population (around 650,000) is less than the district of Leeds - have never reached the World Cup finals. They face a play-off semi-final against Bolivia next Thursday with the winner then taking on Iraq for a place at the 2026 summer tournament.
Should Suriname, 123rd in the world rankings, achieve this unlikely feat then will enter group I with France, Senegal and Norway.
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They entered the play-offs having finished second in their third round qualifying group under the remit of CONCACAF - the federation that covers North, Central American and Caribbean nations.
Explaining his decision to represent Suriname on the senior international stage back in January, Piroe explained: “I thought long and hard about it, about if I would choose Suriname or not.
“When I spoke to my dad about it, I saw this twinkle in his eye that would make him very proud. In the end I had a good feeling about it and I really want to write history with Suriname.
“I have been to Suriname many times. It was always a special place, especially knowing that my dad and my family grew up there. I like to see how they have lived there, and as well to feel the culture, how joyful and outgoing the people are there. It is something that I carry with me as well on the pitch."
Former Leeds striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is the assistant coach of Suriname, where he was born. Both he and Piroe retain belief that anything is possible when it comes to World Cup qualification.
“There are huge games to qualify for the World Cup," Piroe added. "It is very exciting. We really look forward to playing those games, starting with Bolivia. We all know what is on the line and we all believe a lot in it as well.
“Also why I chose to play for them is because I get to work not only with Henk ten Cate, who has been an amazing coach for many years already, I also get to work with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. I think that he is someone I could learn quite a bit from as well.”
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Piroe, last year's Championship golden boot winner, has found game time at Leeds hard to come by this season, having not started a Premier League game since August and only scored his first goal of the campaign against Norwich City in the 3-0 FA Cup fourth round win earlier this month.
Should he play 90 minutes for Suriname against Bolivia, it would total more minutes than he has been given in the Premier League since the start of September. It is widely assumed that these next two months will be his last at United.