Finland suffered its second defeat in the European football championships, when Denmark defeated Helmarit with goals 1–0. At the same time, Finland’s dreams of continuing games experienced their end point.
Denmark scored the only goal of the match in the second half. The winning goal was headed in by the world’s most expensive female player from a loose ball into the gaping Finnish goal Pernille Harder.
‘s studio experts got the situation that led to the goal and many other things Liisa-Maija Raution and Maija Saaren to spin his head. At the beginning of the match, there was still hope in Finland’s game and the Helmaris were able to challenge Denmark.
– I think Finland had a good handle on aggressive defense and a higher press, through which the team won a few situations. Helmarit also spoiled his choices in the match in terms of when it progressed quickly after possessions and when it rhythmed the game through ball control, Rautio estimated.
In this story, experts Rautio and Saari explain three different things about Finland’s defeat: how Finland defended Denmark in the opening half, Essi Sainion the important role and the freezing of the Helmares, and how the defense collapsed in the winning goal.
Finland remained on the defensive right at the beginning of the match
The defenders of Helmare had one of their big tasks in the match to be able to control the stars of Denmark’s attack, Harder and By Nadia Nadimin game.
Played as a substitute in the Spain match Elli Pikkujämsä had moved against Denmark as a winger to replace the one on the sidelines due to the coronavirus infection Tuija from Hyyry. Pikkujämsä showed dueling toughness against Nadim at the very beginning of the match.
Expert Maija Saari: Finland was at its best in the opening half where it wants to be good. That is, with close team defense, it was able to keep the gaps between the lines in the midfield blocked this time against Denmark. Denmark wanted to play the ball from there, and through that, Finland also got exploits in the central area. So Finland did what it is good at, which in turn steered the game to the sides.
Expert Liisa-Maija Rautio: I think Emma Koivisto and Essi Sainio were successful in defending the right wing. Their game was a great success compared to what was the starting point after Finland’s lineup changed.
With the success of the right wing, Denmark’s game went to the other side of the Finnish grouping. There were dangerous chances and Finland had to be on the defensive right from the start of the match.
One problem arose when Denmark attacked from the right, that Nadim and Sara Thrige got a lot of space to push the game forward, pushing Finland’s defense.
Pikkujämsä, who was transferred to a new playing position, received support on several occasions in controlling Nadim, Thrige or Harder, who drifted to the other side, from the midfielder of the same side From Ria Öling.
Maija Saari: I have to take my hat off to Littlefoot for his versatility. The fact that he can be put to play at this level in almost any position in the defense is a big asset. However, his strengths are only in certain types of roles. He mainly plays midfield roles in the club team. Of course, it also stands out in his playing style.
In the example video, you can see how Öling supported Pikkujämsä in the challenging situations of Denmark’s slower attacks. In the first clear doubling situation, Nadim was able to turn to the center and shoot quickly, in the second Pikkujämsä guides him in the right direction and deprives him of the ball.
Liisa-Maija Rautio: At the point when Denmark couldn’t get into direct attacks, where it would have been able to run at speed towards the goal, it made sense for Finland to double up. Fortunately for the helmets, there were also no daring doubles on the star players, because that would have unbalanced the defense a lot.
Sainio’s selection was successful, but the energy ran out
In the opening half, Finland was able to create attacks through its exploits. Essi Sainio played a big part in the exploitation game for Helmarei.
The 35-year-old striker took Adelina Engman’s place on the right side of the midfield in the match against Denmark, when Engman, suffering from back tightness, had to stay out of the match.
The exploits of Sainio, who represents HJK at the club level, were at the core of Finland’s more balanced game in the opening half.
– His and Koivisto’s collaboration was a great success. Saari assessed Adelina Engman’s absence excellently.
In the example videos, you can see how Sainio was able to help the Finnish defense immediately after losing the ball. Sainio worked relentlessly and put pressure on the Danish players after Helmarit had lost the ball. Sainio prevented direct attacks by the Danes.
Liisa-Maija Rautio: Although Sainio doesn’t have Adelina’s speed, she was very successful in her role. Because of this, Finland’s right wing was stronger defensively in the game.
In the second half, Finland’s fatigue started to show more clearly, and Sainio didn’t show similar hunting for the ball either. As Denmark brings clearly more attacking players to the field, Finland’s head coach Anna Signeul pledged his change. Finland made its first change in the 73rd minute, when it was already in the chasing position.
– Of course, here you have to take into account what kind of group Finland has and what kind of skill level can be brought to the field. But when compared to how other teams have rhythmed their substitutions, brought several players on the field at the beginning of the second half, it clearly brings energy to the game. At this level, however, the physical performance level is under a constant load, Saari, who himself played at the European Championship level, reflected.
Signeul’s trademark has also become conservatism in changing its line-up. Finland has played with a very similar group during his time as head coach, and several players in the European Championship group do not have experience of playing big minutes in international matches. Substitutes often get clearly less than half an hour of playing time under Signeul.
– I think that Sainio’s successful entry also played a big role in the fact that he had played an entire half against Spain and had played in previous training games. He had gotten into the way of the game beforehand, Saari continued.
Denmark’s goal was provided by a foul
Denmark’s winning goal buried Finland’s further dreams and also showed several flaws in Finland’s defensive play.
The situation that led to the goal started with a pass break by Harder, who finished the shot. Harder stopped Emma Koivisto’s vertical pass, from which Denmark launched its counterattack. From the left side, the ball was played back to Harder in the middle lane, from where he was able to distribute the ball forward to the right side of the game. The example video below starts with the ball being played to star player Harder.
When topper Natalia Kuikka came from Finland’s defense line against the threat created by Harder, Elli Pikkujämsä was the only defender against the Danes. However, Pikkujämsä, who is used to playing as a central defender and midfielder, was left in the sixteen area halfway and left Ria Öling alone against two Danes.
Öling was able to intercept the first pass, but the ball drifted to Denmark Rikke Sevecke. Finland’s entire line remained lying down, leaving Denmark a chance to concentrate. It hit the mark Janni Thomsen’s from the leg. Sofie Junge-Pedersen won the header between two Helmarit defenders and hit the crossbar. Harder had an easy spot to clean the ball into an empty net.
Shin: Pikkujämsä can’t be blamed too much for his role in the decisive goal, because at this level even small differences come to the fore. He lacks a certain routine in the role of fullback, so his game shows the desire to protect the center even in the wing role. However, he should have made a choice about where to place himself. He could have tried to get as close as possible to the centerer, so that the angle of that player would be as small as possible. It would have made it easier for the players in front of the goal.
Rautio: We’ll see how at the paint demonstration Emmi Alanen points and communicates about guarding Harder Eveliina Summanen. However, this does not get the message and neither Finn is guarding Harder. Changing a guarded survivor from a flight before the goal is a risk of its own, here it backfires.
The sum of many mistakes cost Finland a goal and at the same time gave them a back distance that Helmarit could not make up in the match.