Four new faces for the fateful matches of Helmareite’s World Cup qualification – the head coach explains why the stalwart Tuija Hyyrynen is on the sidelines

Finland plays Ireland as a guest on September 1. at 9 p.m. and will face Sweden in Tampere on September 6. at 19. The matches are shown live on channels.

After the European football championships played in the summer, the head coach of the Finnish women’s national team Anna Signeulin the contract was terminated. The Swedish coach’s contract was originally supposed to last until the end of the year.

President of the Football Association Ari Lahti said that the uproar over Signeul’s management methods had an effect on the dismissal, but even more important was the weak game performances at the European Championships.

The pilot of the 17-year-old girls’ national team started as the temporary head coach Marko Saloranta. He immediately stated that there is a big challenge ahead, as many of the national team’s main players will probably end their careers in the near future and the team may have to be changed too much at once. In the European Championships, the Finnish team was the second oldest.

When Saloranta named their group for the last two matches of the World Cup qualifying group, there were four new names on the list. First timers are KuPS midfielders Emma Peuhkurinen and Oona Sirendefender of KuPS Emmi Siren and defender of HJK Joanna Tynnilä.

Saloranta knows Siren and Tynnilä, who were born in 2001, very well, because they played in the U17 team, which reached third place in the age group at the 2018 European Championships and thus also made it to the World Championships.

– They were the sharpest in the EC tournament and did well in the WC tournament. The head lasts, they are skilled players and have played in our domestic league for many years in key roles, Saloranta praises.

– The same applies to Peuhkurinen (born in 1999), who has been extremely good in the domestic league, sometimes it feels like he’s even too good for that league. The same continued in the Champions League qualifiers last week.

Saloranta does not promise new players playing time. According to him, the most important thing is what kind of players fit the image of the match.

– That’s why those players have been chosen, that we dare to put them on the field. There is no guarantee of playing time, but it is completely possible, because everyone has enough talent to be able to play those games, the head coach says.

Tynnilä described his mood as excited, happy and proud. He found out about his national team selection just over a week ago.

Toppari helped Tikkurila Palloseura to silver last season, but moved to HJK this season when TiPS had to give up their place in the league. Tynnilä highlights calmness, ball skills and opening the game as well as positioning.

– At least I have good experiences myself. He is really knowledgeable and knows how to bring out the best sides of the players in his style of play, commented Tynnilä on the familiar head coach.

The team has already gotten younger since the European Championships, when they are 35 years old Essi Sainio and Anna Auvinen finished in the national team, and no Tuija Hyyrynen, 34, will be included as he is currently without a club team. Hyyrynen’s contract, who won five Italian championships at Juventus, ended last season, and he has not found a suitable challenge for himself so far.

– Tuija is not involved at this point, because he has not had a club team, games or pre-season since the European Championships, Saloranta commented.

Saloranta emphasized at the team announcement event that the age of the players does not determine the national team selections.

– No young person gets an award because they are young. Experienced people will not be dropped because the wrong year of birth is written on the passport.

– Our job as coaches is to make sure that the debuting players succeed in the same way as “Riven” (Markku Kanerva) below in the men’s team.

Saloranta’s first weeks in the new home have been busy. He says that he has called players through, held meetings with his support group, scouted future opponents and watched a lot of matches of Finnish players.

When Helmarit gathers in Ireland, there will be three training sessions in the program before the match, which is a must-win for Finland in order to keep the World Cup dream alive. Helmarit will fly to Ireland on Monday, the match will be played on Thursday.

– Of course it’s a little, but it shouldn’t be an explanation for coaches or players. That’s the A national team and it’s top football, so we have to get results, Saloranta acknowledges.

Changes are coming to the gameplay since Signeul’s time, which started in winter 2017.

– The goal is to steel the way we play defensively. It has been a great strength for the team at its best. We are trying to sharpen it back to being clear and aggressive, says Saloranta.

– There will certainly be quite a lot of changes in the attacking game. Although there are few practices, I hope that already in the Ireland match people will see that someone has changed.

Above all, Saloranta wants to see that Finland is able to attack more versatilely and create more high-quality scoring chances.

Helmarit is third in its qualifying group, one point behind Ireland. Having secured the group victory, Sweden will surely advance to the Games. Finland is fighting with Ireland for a place in the further qualification.

The story continues after the table and the fact box.

Ireland face Slovakia in their second match of the September window. If Ireland, who go into the game as pre-favorites, beat Slovakia, they will rise to 14 points, even if they lose to Finland before that.

Finland can end up with 14 points by winning one of their remaining matches and drawing the other. If Finland and Ireland are tied, matches between each other will be compared in the fight for second place. Last fall, Finland lost to both Ireland and Sweden with 1–2 goals.

By beating both Ireland and Sweden, Finland would secure a place in the further qualifiers.

Saloranta trusts that Helmarit will still realistically fight for a World Cup place, which would be the first in Finnish football history at the adult level.

In the video below, you can listen and watch how Saloranta reflected on Finland’s route to the World Championships.