Huuhkajat will play a match today, the likes of which it has not played before, writes Urheilu’s reporter Jussi Vainikka from Cardiff.
Jussi Vainikka sports reporter
CARDIFF. Do you remember when Huuhkajat played in September 2022 on an away field drenched by heavy rain against Montenegro and won 2–0?
You may not remember.
In the end, that match had a greater meaning than was understood on the day of the game. The victory guaranteed second place in the Nations League group and the chance to qualify for the European Championship.
Today the Huuhkaji have exactly that opportunity in front of them in Cardiff. The opportunity has turned into a challenge, a demanding one. In order to get a place in the European Championships, Finland has to beat Wales, after which they have to beat Poland in Helsinki on Tuesday. Another possible opponent for the qualifying final is Estonia, but they hardly believe in defeating Poland themselves.
Never before has the Finnish A national team played in the playoff phase of the qualifying competition. In the previous EC qualifiers, the place had already been achieved, but it was not needed when Huuhkajat progressed directly from the qualifiers to the games. In the current qualifiers, the same trick was not successful.
The format of the further qualification is fierce – result or out. Cardiff’s night can be long, as the winner will be decided in extra time or a penalty shootout if necessary.
Wales, an experienced visitor of the last few years, goes into the match as a preliminary favorite. Not the Finnish players or the head coach Markku Kanervakaa have denied in interviews all week.
Home advantage also plays into Wales’ pocket. The Cardiff City stadium, which attracts 32,000 spectators, is sold out down to the last seat on Thursday. Nationalism is strong in the country, reflecting its history, and it can be seen especially in football. The team rarely loses at home. Local journalists reminded Kanerva of this at Wednesday’s press conference.
It speaks volumes for the Welsh’s certainty of victory that on the local Welsh-language TV channel on Wednesday evening, the eyes were already on the Polish team.
Huuhkaj has a lot of good memories of Cardiff from history, albeit from a different stadium. Finland once ruined the first football match played at the 80,000-seat Millennium Stadium in 2000. Jari Litmanen scored the stadium’s first goal when Finland won 2–1. A year later sami Hyypiä captained Liverpool and lifted the FA Cup trophy in the same arena.
In Cardiff, Litmanen and Hyypia also played a key role in Finland’s previous victory over Wales in the 2009 World Cup qualifier.
From the perspective of Huhkaji, the starting points for Thursday night are good insofar as all the key players are healthy. Especially on the offensive end, Kanerva has a positive problem, because there are more players in good shape in the lineup than there are places in the opening.
All eyes are on Kanerva, whose game plan must be successful in a tight spot. The failure of the Slovenia match played in October, which turned out to be decisive in the European Championship qualifying group, is still fresh in the memory. Against Wales, you have to be careful especially when playing on the wing and in special situations.
The Huskies will have to test the patience of Wales and the home crowd by any means possible and make effective use of the moments when Wales’ tight defensive package falters. There won’t be many such moments.
The first prize competition place achieved more than four years ago has brought healthy self-confidence to Huuhkaji. Supporters have it too. About 1,700 Finns have traveled to Cardiff.
A strong sign of increased self-confidence could be seen in Cardiff’s lively core center already on Wednesday evening. The locals were amazed, because the big billboard on the pedestrian street was graced by a giant blue swashbuckler.
Under the eyes of Huuhkaja, who resolutely monitors the streets of Cardiff, three words are written in the largest letters: Suomi, sisu, sauna.
The audacity of the advertisement is also needed on the grass in the evening, so that the unique opportunity of the qualifying final at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium next Tuesday can be realized.
will follow the EC qualifying game Wales-Finland on Thursday on its website moment by moment and will show the game live on TV2 and Areena. The broadcast starts at 21:00 in the advance studio. The match starts at 21:45.