Dominican Rep.vs.Aruba

These countries will be meeting for the first time since 2012, with the visitors looking to secure a historic first victory over the hosts.

Match preview

The Dominican Republic, ranked 150th in the latest FIFA rankings, will be in action for the first time this year on Saturday.

The Quisqueyanos are not known as a great footballing nation and have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup or the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

However, they finished second in their CONCACAF Nations League B Group B last time out, winning three games, drawing one and losing two of their six matches, including a 5-0 thrashing of Barbados in October.

Although they fell short of promotion to League A, scoring 13 goals and conceding just five during the Nations League will give the Dominican Republic side a lot of confidence going forward.

Playing against Aruba for the first time in 12 years, David Gonzalez will hope his side can extend their three-game winning streak in this fixture while also securing victory in their opening match of 2024.

Ranked 43 places behind their opponents at 193rd, Aruba will hope they can extend their four-match winning run from last year.

After winning all four games in League C Group B against the Cayman Islands and the US Virgin Islands, Marvic Bermudez's side earned promotion to League B last year.

However, whether victories over relatively weaker countries in CONCACAF are a testament to their improvement remains to be seen when they face a stronger side in the Dominican Republic.

This will be Aruba's first international friendly match since March 2019, when they lost 3-2 to Saint Lucia.

Dominican Republic form (all competitions):

L

W

W

W

L

D

Aruba form (all competitions):

L

W

W

W

W

Team News

All eyes will be on Dorny Romero, who is the active player with the most goals for the Dominican Republic, having scored 12 times in 30 appearances.

The Aktobe forward is expected to lead the line for the Quisqueyanos alongside Ronaldo Vasquez and Heinz Morschel.

Miguel Lloyd, with 49 caps, is third on the all-time appearance list for the Dominican Republic and should be between the sticks once again for his 50th cap.

Terence Groothusen, joint-top-scorer for Aruba, should start in a front two alongside Rovien Ostiana, who has scored five times in four appearances.

Walter Bennett and Carlos Rua should anchor the midfield, protecting the defence and kick starting the attack.

Dominican Republic possible starting lineup:

Lloyd; Melo, Garcia, Lopez; Alba, Sambataro, Lopez, Pena; Azcona; Romero, Vasquez, Morschel

Aruba possible starting lineup:

Lentink; Jacobs, Lewis, Luydens, Nedd; Molina, Bennett, Rua, Maria; Ostiana, Groothusen

We say: Dominican Republic 2-1 Aruba

Aruba have enjoyed a decent run coming into this fixture, but the Dominican Republic will pose a greater threat compared to their last set of opponents.

The Dominican Republic are playing at a higher level and should pick up a win by the end of the final whistle.

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