The Finnish women’s national football team is clearly leading the group in the Nations League when Helmarit meets Croatia for the second time on Tuesday. The expert was worried about Emma Koivisto’s injury.
Helmarit will face Croatia for the second time in the League of Nations on Tuesday, October 31. The match will be shown live on TV2 and Areena from 17:57.
The Finnish women’s national football team Helmarit dominates their Nations League matches as they wish. Finland beat Croatia 3–0 on Friday night.
Finland played through the match against Croatia’s low defensive block, but the team still created several scoring chances, Urheilu’s football expert reminds Essi Sainio.
– Playing against such a defensive block is difficult, but if you win the match 3–0, it is a performance worthy of all respect. Finland didn’t really make any defensive mistakes, and that’s why (goalkeeper) Tinja-Riikka Korpela didn’t save once in the match, says Sainio.
Finland had 16 scoring attempts against Croatia, 8 of which went towards the goal. The team collected twelve corner kicks. In the Croatia column, the same statistics show zero. Sainio states that, for example, Finland took all means away from the opponent with its effective counter-press.
– Croatia’s way of starting the match also made Finland’s game easier. If they don’t have quality players in their offense who can make ripping runs, the balls should not be played behind the line. Finland also defended all budding vertical runs away.
– In addition, Finland lost the ball in areas where it can be lost, i.e. really deep on the opponent’s side. Then it is easier to take the ball back to your own team.
Group victory seems certain
Finland has a safe five-point lead in its group of the Nations League. In all of their B-league matches, Finland has overwhelmingly dominated ball control. Second-placed Slovakia defended better against Finland than Croatia and Romania, and Finland beat Slovakia 4–0 in September.
On Tuesday, October 31, Finland will play Croatia as a guest. After that, the team will face Romania and Slovakia once. With another win over Croatia, Finland is very close to winning the group.
Sainio believes that Finland has not yet been able to show its full potential. Finland completely dominates the matches, but we see a lot of situations that, so to speak, get caught up in the small. The team still lacks that final touch in the attacking third, Sainio estimates.
– What will be done and how to find premises? How do you make the right choices between focusing, breaking through the middle and challenging the opponent? In addition, the passes are either of insufficient quality or hard, meaning they do not go to the own players. Then you won’t be able to create those good scoring opportunities. In that regard, the team can still improve.
Expert Maiju Rootsalainen already talked about the upcoming, i.e. tougher, A-league after the September matches. According to Sainio, the B-league matches are already preparing the team for the future.
– Finland has controlled the ball a lot and got into its discomfort zone. Finland’s game still shows good discipline. For example, after corner situations, the team humbly runs to their own end of the field. That kind of humility prepares you for those A-League games.
Sainio still reminds us that the level of the game naturally rises in the A-League when we meet teams that can counterattack.
– In those games, Finland might not be the ball-controlling team. After this season’s Nations League, it should be possible to organize matches where Finland has to defend collectively.
Was Emma Koivisto injured?
After the actual playing time is over, the Finnish full-back Emma Koivisto was injured in a seemingly harmless situation. He stayed on the surface of the field for a moment to feel the knee of his right leg. The injury raised concerns about an ACL injury.
Koivisto, who plays for Liverpool in the English Super League, has been given a lot of responsibility in the early season, both in the national and club teams.
– I don’t know exactly what the situation is. Hopefully it’s not worse (injury). He is an important player for us and of course also for Liverpool, the head coach of Finland Marko Saloranta said after the match.
Expert Sainio is also worried about Koivisto’s situation. According to him, the Fullback practically controls the wing he plays on.
– Emma would be a really big loss for Finland. She may not always be the most visible player on the field, but you can tell if Emma is not on the field.
Sainio describes that Koivisto plays an important role in Helmarei both defensively and offensively. In addition, Koivisto plays a very large role in Finland’s current game system, especially in counter-press.
There will certainly be a credit player on the sidelines for the next match Ria Öling. He received a second yellow card for three matches in Friday’s game and is suspended for Tuesday.
Finland’s upcoming matches:
Tue 31.10. Croatia-Finland
Thu 30.11. Finland-Romania
Tue 5.12. Slovakia–Finland
Helmarit will face Croatia for the second time in the League of Nations on Tuesday, October 31. The match will be shown live on TV2 and Areena from 17:57.