World champion Portugal gave a lesson in futsal to Finland, who will have to look for a possible place in the World Cup further qualifiers in the future.
The Finnish men’s futsal team received a breath of fresh air from the sharpest peak in the world late on Friday. Reigning world champion Portugal hosted the World Cup qualifying game in Coimbra with a dull 5–0 score, securing the group win and a direct continuation place to the World Cup tournament.
Portugal took away their opponents’ doubts in the first half in less than a quarter of an hour, when Pany Varela, Thiago Brito and Bruno Coelho took the home team to a 3–0 lead in just over 13 minutes with their goals.
In the second half, Finland crossed the penalty kick without a goalkeeper, and the ball slipped into the goal in the half of the field, securing Tero Intalan between the legs. A hit was scored For Joao Matos. The final numbers were 5–0 Pauleta.
– There was a lot of resistance. It felt like we were a little behind on everything. We didn’t get the pressing game working well enough, nor the ball game. The resistance was also effective in its own places. We also had chances, but we couldn’t make even one, goalkeeper Antti Koivumäki commented to .
The trend in Finland is worrying
Koivumäki was a little worried about Finland’s current condition. In previous clashes, Finland had played two even games against Portugal (2–2 and 2–3 loss), but in this qualifying window, Portugal clearly won the matches 5–1 and 5–0.
– We have a record number of players abroad, but for some reason we haven’t gotten results in a while, Koivumäki lamented.
Finland’s lineup lacked experienced players due to various reasons Juha-Matti Savolainen, Jani Korpela, Miika Hosio, Sergei Korsunov and Jukka Kytölä.
Finland’s World Cup qualifying games in group E of the elite round ended. Finland is on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup, but the place is not yet certain.
– Now we wait while the other teams play their last matches. At the beginning of the year, there are draws for further qualifications, who ever gets there. Even if we don’t play against Armenia, our camp will continue. Let’s use that time to our advantage and train more, said Koivumäki.
Futsal World Cup qualifier, Coimbra
Portugal – Finland 5–0 (3-0)
1–0 Varela 03.46
2–0 Brito 10.06
3–0 Coelho 13.05
4–0 Matos 30.45
5–0 Pauleta 36.31
E block
Portugal 5 5 0 0 27- 2 15
Finland 5 3 0 2 16-10 9
Armenia 5 1 0 4 5-20 3
Georgia 5 1 0 5 3-19 3
After Armenia withdrew from the last qualifying match, the Portugal match ended the qualification for Finland.