The times of helmet changes and their scarcity were surprising in the Denmark match of the European Championships.
12.7.•Updated 12.7.
Helmarit suffered its second defeat in the European football championships, when Denmark was stronger with 1-0 goals. Pernille Harder scored the only goal of the match in the 73rd minute of the game.
After the game, those who watched the match were surprised by Finland’s tactical solutions and especially Finland’s substitutions. Finland made only two substitutions in the match, when it is possible to make a total of five. In addition, the goal stick scored by Finland’s goal in the opening match against Spain was taken off the field from the Helmareite grouping Linda Sällström. Sällström changed Olga Ahtienen in the 73rd minute.
Striker Jenny Danielsson a defender came on the field as Finland’s second substitution Anna Westerlund substitute in the last minutes of the match.
Urheilu asked Finland’s head coach immediately after the match Anna from Signeul why Finland made only two substitutions in the match.
– We have to keep the balance defensively and defensively. The players on the field played well, Signeul said.
Signeul also stated to Urheilu that playing was tiring because Finland did not have the ball that much.
– Then we got possession of the ball. We tried, but we didn’t make the right decisions. We lost the ball several times. We got a little tired, Signeul said.
Finland’s head coach also stated at the press conference that fatigue could affect Finland’s playing.
– After receiving the attacks, there is perhaps not as much energy as there should be when attacking yourself, Signeul said.
The timing of the exchanges and their lack came up in the question of the Finnish journalists. Signeul was asked why Finland made so few substitutions, even though the coach had just talked about the players’ fatigue.
– We made changes at the end even without substitutions. We are reorganizing the game on the field. We defended well. Of course we want to continue to defend well. They put so many more attacking players on the field. It is important that the balance is in order, Signeul reasoned.
The Swedish coach was asked about the reasons for the substitutions, also regarding the fact that Finland had to score a goal in the match, and not just continue defending.
– There is always a balancing act with what kind of players are in the team. There is also a reason why some players are in the starting line-up, Signeul replied.
‘s studio discussed Signeul’s comments in ‘s TV interview. About experts Timo Furuholm didn’t believe Signeul’s explanation about the exchanges.
– I don’t know if the defense was so well balanced. Maybe it just tells the cold fact that he doesn’t have that much faith in the players on the bench and in such a tough game, substitutions would be made early, Furuholm stated.
Furuholm also reminded that Finland is the underdog in the opening group of the European Championship.
– Then the exchanges should always be successful. Today, we didn’t dare to make the changes very early. In the big picture, however, this did not decide the game, Furuholm stated.
‘s experts in the studio Jonne Kunnas also questioned the tactical solutions of Finnish coaching.
– I question the fact that reacting to problems is always changing the form to match the form of the opponent. I think it confuses the actions of the players. If the game is defended with a line of four and then a line of five, the areas of responsibility change, Kunnas said.
In the second half, Finland switched to playing with a line of five defenders, while at the start of the game the team defended with a line of four defenders.
– It’s a difficult thought to forget a phase of the game. Let’s take out Denmark’s attack and put in a line of five defenders. We forget how big of an impact it has on Finland’s attacking play. I would rather see that the problems are fixed with a different casting of the same format, Kunnas stated.
You can find everything about the European football championships: games, background stories, news and highlights on ‘s competition pages. Finland will face Germany in the final game of the first group on Saturday at 22:00. Live broadcast of the match from 21:00 on TV1 and Areena. You can listen to the match on Puhe from 21:30.