Expert Timo Tolvanen says that the entire Finnish attack must play better in order for Spain to fall. In a match that is critical for the next place, a “flammable group” will face off.
Riku Porvari,
Petri Sjöblom
The European Volleyball Men’s Championship will be played from August 28 to September 16. shows all the matches in Finland and the most interesting games of the games. Spain–Finland on Sunday 3 September. live on TV2 and Areena from 17:15.
On Friday, the Finnish men’s national volleyball team succumbed to a 0–3 defeat against Slovenia, the group’s pre-favorite. Set scores for Slovenia 25–21, 25–19, 25–22.
The Finnish players raved about how great it was to play against the world’s best, when from time to time the opponent was caught in a tight spot. Finland’s best point scorer with 14 points was a general player Jiri Hänninen. According to him, there was a clear difference between the teams.
– You could just see that they have been playing together for a longer time. Slovenia knew how to keep the gas down, so to speak, especially at the end of the sets. The level of our game sometimes varies too much.
Finland’s second passer also got a lot of responsibility Fedor Ivanov, who said he enjoyed the challenging game. He stated that Slovenia’s passes and attacks came much harder than, for example, in Finland’s training.
– Nice to get used to that. When you get to give displays against tough teams, you get into tough leagues. There, those punches are basic punches. It’s nice to play when there’s no pub gang against you.
Hännine for the opening?
Urheilu’s volleyball expert Timo Tolvanen notes that the Slovenia match went as expected. He says that he was surprised that Finland started the match with the so-called first six.
– In the match, the idea was clearly to bring in fresh men and a possible starting six on the bench. A tolerable game from Finland, but the situation was a bit unfair because Slovenia is so damn tough. The young people were not able to give evidence in an easy place, Tolvanen estimates.
In the opening set, Finland lost by four points, and after that the passari was not seen on the field again Eemi Terportttia or a chipper Joonas Jokela. According to Tolvanen, it was the right and justified decision, head coach From Joel Bankswhen those with lesser responsibility got a feel for the game.
In addition to Hänninen and Ivanovi, many others played, among others Sakari Mäkinen, Nuitti Niinivaara and those who took turns at the chipper’s place Samuli Kaislasalo and Aaro Nikula. Among them, Hänninen played through the match when he replaced in the opening six Niko Suihkonen.
– In my opinion, Hänninen played an opening spot for himself. Suihkosen had difficulties in the match against Bulgaria. Hänninen got into it well and continued on Friday. The general players starting in the next game will probably be (Luka) Marttila and Hänninen.
The situation in Finland’s group, the top four continue
Attack based on Jokela
On Sunday, Finland will face Spain, who have beaten Bulgaria 3–1 and lost to Croatia 0–3. Finland has a slightly better starting point for the match, because the team has a day off, while for Spain the game is the third in a row.
– Such a warm-blooded group. They light up if you irritate them a little – such a sensitive group. As long as we play our own good game, that’s enough to win, libero Voitto Köykkä describes Spain.
Finland will face Ukraine on Monday.
– Let’s take three points from Spain and three from Ukraine, so isn’t the tournament going really well, says coach Ivanov.
With two wins, Finland would probably grab second place in the group and have an easier opponent in the quarterfinals.
Sports expert Tolvanen estimates that Finland needs to improve a few areas if the team is to win both games. Finland’s clear number one striker is Jokela, while Nikula and Kailasalo, who alternated in the Slovenia match, have not convinced.
– Both had difficulties against Slovenia, and that’s probably why Banks changed them often, Tolvanen states.
According to him, general players should also improve their attacking game. So far, one has played a good game, but the other has been weak.
– Jokela’s good play alone cannot beat Spain. That requires a good day from both wingers.
In addition, Finland has been erratic in their passes throughout the tournament. Tolvanen says that repeated input errors even annoy him a little.
– When taking risks, input errors occur. But it seems that with easy passes there are consecutive errors. It eats up the game and brings additional stress. I would hope that Finland would improve its passing in the Spain game.