Last Friday, Finland took a hard hit when they beat Iceland away from home. Next, Helmarit will face another tough team, Scotland, on Tuesday. The match will be watched live on .
Roope Visuri,
Pauli Jokinen
Helmarit will meet Scotland on Tuesday in Ratina, Tampere. Live broadcast of the match on TV2 and Areena from 18:53.
The Finnish women’s national football team, better known as Helmarit, is on a winning streak of no less than six matches. On Friday, Helmarit defeated Iceland on the away field with goals 2–1.
Iceland was a tough scalp, as the team is in 15th place in the world ranking of the international football association Fifa. Finland is 29th.
Before that, the previous five victories had come against slightly weaker opponents. In April’s training ground matches, Slovakia fell (47th), in the Cyprus tournament in February, Finland crushed Romania (38th), Hungary (42nd) and Croatia (59th).
The last time Helmarit won six matches in a row was in 2012.
Urheilu expert, national team icon who ended his career last year, Essi Sainio can see that Helmarit is currently going downwind.
– Of course, you can always think about what level of opponents there are. However, Iceland is a very good team. Based on that, we go with the wind. The players look liberated. The game looks really good in places, says Sainio.
After last summer’s European Championships, he took over the responsibility of the helmets Marko Saloranta has emphasized a lot on the culture of winning.
– One of the cornerstones of success is to have the courage to throw yourself into a job, even if you get stuck. The starting point is that there is at least no fear of losing, says Sainio.
On Tuesday, Helmarit will again face tough opposition on their home field, when Finland meets Scotland in Ratina, Tampere. Scotland’s world ranking is 23rd. Finland and Scotland are familiar opponents to each other. Finland went to last summer’s European Championships just ahead of Scotland.
The Helmare players believe that Scotland now has the spirit of revenge.
– They may have something in the tooth cavity. Could be a pretty tough game, star defender Natalia Kuikka believes.
According to Kuika, the new young players have brought a lot of good things to the Helmarien team.
– The whole team’s playing has brightened up, when a little new energy has come. “The lads have settled in really well and they have become important players for us,” says Kuikka.
One of the new youth has been Katrina Kosola. The 22-year-old midfielder started both of Finland’s goals against Iceland. Kosola made his debut for the national team last November.
– My playing style includes a strong challenge. I have been given such a role that I get to play on the wings. Challenges are also encouraged, Kosola opens.