The Finnish men’s national football team does not directly qualify for the European Championships through the qualifiers, but has to apply for a place in the further qualifiers. The matter was confirmed yesterday when Finland first lost to Kazakhstan and later in the evening Denmark beat San Marino and Slovenia beat Northern Ireland.
Huuhkajat was close to victory against Kazakhstan for a long time, but Finland succumbed in the last quarter. Finland lost to Kazakhstan 1–2. Below was an away loss to Slovenia and a home loss to Denmark in the previous qualifying window.
Most recently, the Huuhkajat have lost three matches in a row in the same qualifiers Hans Backen under in the fall of 2016. In that infamous year, Huuhkajat did not win a single match.
This November’s Huuhkajie qualifying games were considered to be the most significant in years, as the away match against Slovenia in particular was considered to be the deciding factor in the fate of the direct competition spot. Now, however, the games in November became a big stomachache.
Tomi Hännenen the pictures taken tell a lot how huge a disappointment the Kazakhstan loss was for the Huuhkajie team.
How can Huuhkajat get to the European Championships now?
Finland will certainly be in the further qualification at the end of next March, but the opponents are still open.
Huuhkaji still have two qualifying matches left in November, first a home game against Northern Ireland and then an away game in San Marino. However, these matches are not important for Finland in terms of a European Championship place.
Finland qualified for the next round after playing so well in the Nations League last year. Finland has secured its place in the further qualification, as Scotland, who ranked ahead of the Huuhkajie in the Nations League, will go directly to the Games.
The 12 countries that were left out of the European Championships in the qualifiers can go to the further qualification. 12 teams form 3 paths. Each path has three teams. The winners of these paths get to the European Championships.
The further qualifiers are played in two parts. Two wins are therefore required for a place in the European Championships. The game dates for the further qualification are March 21 and 26.
Finland can end up on either the so-called A or B path in the further qualifiers.
In the current situation, Finland would be on the B path of the further qualifications. If the results remained as they are now, Finland would face Bosnia-Herzegovina in the opening match of the further qualifiers on the away field, and by winning it, the place in the competition would be decided either against Israel or Iceland. Ukraine can also end up on the B path if they don’t get a direct place.
Finland may end up on the A path if only one or two teams remain from the A level of the Nations League without a direct competition place. In the current situation, Croatia, Italy and Poland would be left without a competition place. According to the rules of the European football association Uefa, Sillo’s A path would be completed first with Estonia, the winner of the D level.
If the A path needs to be completed after Estonia, the other teams will be drawn. The lottery would then be held between Finland, Iceland and Ukraine. The draw would not involve Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel or Serbia, as they have won their respective groups in the B level of the Nations League.
If the lottery falls to Finland, Huuhkajat would probably play first against Wales. If Wales wins, the qualifying spot would then be decided in the current situation either against Poland or Estonia.
What is there to be excited about in November’s international matches?
For Finns, it’s worth keeping an eye on how many of the A-level teams in the Nations League qualify directly for the games in November’s qualifying window. Probably, without a direct place in the European Championships, only two teams would be left out: Poland and Wales. In this case, Finland could end up on the A-path through the lottery mentioned above. However, it is possible that Wales will switch to Croatia. The two are fighting behind Turkey for the second direct race place in qualifying group D.
Poland can still climb past the Czech Republic or Albania directly to the competition place, but the probability of that is less than three percent. If the Czech Republic were still out of the direct competition place in that group E, it would replace Poland in the A-path further qualification.
Italy, which is currently the third A-level team out of the Games, can directly qualify for the Games if it wins first against North Macedonia at home and then against Ukraine in Germany.
If Italy were to catch a place in the competition, Finland would have to worry about the result of the draw with Ukraine and Iceland.
If Ukraine were to hold on to their place in the competition in November, Finland would be on the B path and would then face Bosnia-Herzegovina. With a win in that match, the competition place would be decided against Israel and Iceland.
The situation in Israel can still be confusing. The qualifying games of the country’s football team were now postponed from October due to the war in Gaza. Israel can clinch a place in the competition by passing either Romania or Switzerland.
Switzerland’s place in the competition is almost certain, but it is possible for Israel to go past Romania. In this case, Finland’s ranking would go up by a notch in the B-path ranking and the team would get home advantage in the first qualifying match against Iceland. If Israel were to go to the Games, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Norway would probably fight for a place in the B path.
The home advantage is drawn for the games that decide the qualification spot.
Who are already in the European Championships for sure?
In the November qualifying window, there are still twelve direct competition spots for the European Championships. In addition to the host Germany, Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, Scotland, Turkey, Austria and England have secured their places so far.
Albania, Hungary, the Netherlands, Denmark, Slovakia and the Czech Republic will almost certainly get a place in the competition. This leaves five more direct race spots still up for grabs.
November’s EC qualifying games are scheduled for 15–21. November. A possible further group draw for Huuhkaji is scheduled for November 23.