Huhukjat will face Kazakhstan, whose team does not have star players. The surprise of the group has good results below, but behind the numbers a different kind of truth dawns, says expert Miika Nuutinen.
Finland will meet Kazakhstan in the European Championship qualifying match on Thursday at 17:00. The live broadcast of the match will start on TV2, Areena and ‘s website at 16:30.
As the European football qualifiers approach the halfway point, Finland and Kazakhstan are tied for first place in Group H.
In Astana, a top match will be played on Thursday, which many did not know how to expect back in the spring.
In the previous World Cup qualifiers, Kazakhstan did not win a single match, but in the current qualifiers, they have already won three out of four matches. The country had never before won three qualifying matches in a row.
The previous Nations League also went well, as Kazakhstan won their group and moved up to the B-League – the same level that Finland plays at.
Kazakhstan now has perhaps the best opportunity in its history to enter the prestigious tournament.
So it goes on the football field. The country is in the middle of an upheaval anyway. Kazakhstan’s geopolitical position for Russia, which invaded Ukraine, is significant, but the direction of political movement is possibly taking the country away from Russia and towards the West.
When Huuhkajat last played in Kazakhstan, the country’s capital was named after the then pro-Russian dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev as Nur-Sultan. Now we play in the same stadium, but in Astana. The name was returned after the transfer of power to the current president Kasym-Žomart Tokayev.
A different head of state, a different name of the capital – and a national soccer team that is grabbing victories? The topper of the whiners Robert Ivanov described Kazakhstan on Monday as a completely different team than two years ago.
Sports expert Miika Nuutinen disagrees. On the field, Kazakhstan is still playing well in the same way as it did during Finland’s previous visit. At that time Huuhkajat won 2–0.
– With good results, the whole team’s spirit is different. If you look at the structure and dynamics of the game, there hasn’t been a gigantic change in direction, says Nuutinen.
– When attacking, the distances are still long. Traditionally, Kazakhstan’s players are skilled on the ball, and the game is based more on an individual player’s ability to pass under pressure than on the fact that playing with the ball is a clear cooperative action.
Nuutinen compares Ivanov to the fact that Kazakhstan has succeeded in tightening up its defense. This is also supported by statistics. In the previous World Cup qualifiers, Kazakhstan’s net, which defended with five lines, rang two and a half times per match, while now the same number is exactly one after four matches.
– However, looking at the game performances and numbers, the fact is that Kazakhstan has overperformed. Against them, more goal chances are constantly created than they are able to create themselves. This applies both to the qualifiers and to the League of Nations, where the top countries did not compete.
According to Nuutinen, there are no permanent success factors in Kazakhstan’s game. They have an advantage over Huuhkaj from the longer preparation time and from the artificial grass surface familiar to the players. In addition, some of the Finnish players have flown to the place recently after exceptionally long distances.
Nuutinen considers Kazakhstan’s home advantage to be the most significant in the entire group. So it’s no wonder that respect for the Kazakh team has been strongly present in the Huuhkajie players’ speeches this week. Nevertheless, it is clear that Finland will go into the match as the favorite.
1) Defending counterattacks
– Kazakhstan’s way of scoring goals is first of all counterattacks. This is critical for Finland. Kazakhstan should not be given cheap counterattacks.
2) Kazakhstan’s aggressiveness
– Kazakhstan basically defends deep in the block, but the aggressiveness is present. Players like to come off the block to the front zone to press. In this way, space opens up in the block behind the pressing player, and Finland must be able to use them.
3) Special situations
– Kazakhstan has been a weak special situation team for a long time. Even in Finland, special situations are not a strength, but they could have a place of attack. Of those, Kazakhstan has conceded goals.
When we talk about Kazakhstan, we rarely talk about individual players. There are no stars in the team. Almost the entire team plays in the main league of Kazakhstan, most of them in the shirt of Astana. The average age of the team hovers around 30 years, which is exceptionally high at the European level.
For Huhkaji, Nuutinen sees the left winger who plays for Zenit St. Petersburg as significant Nuraly Alipin.
– You have to be able to influence his opening of the game. Kazakhstan looks for a lot of passes directly to the penalty area or behind the defensive line. I could see that Alip has the most quality to deliver these balls.
Despite the absence of superstars, the goals of Kazakhstan’s current qualification could fill an entire sports screen. Askhat Tagybergen firing into Denmark’s net can with good reason be considered the most beautiful of the entire qualifiers.
It remains to be seen if there are more magic tricks against Huhkaji in the inventory.
23.3. Denmark–Finland 3 to 1
26.3. Northern Ireland–Finland 0–1
16.6. Finland–Slovenia 2–0
19.6. Finland–San Marino 6–0
Thu 7.9. at 5 p.m. Kazakhstan–Finland
Sun 10.9. at 19 Finland–Denmark
Sat 14.10. at 19 Slovenia–Finland
Tue 17.10. at 19 Finland–Kazakhstan
Fri 17.11. at 19 Finland–Northern Ireland
Mon 20.11. at 21:45 San Marino–Finland
The best two of the group will qualify for the summer 2024 European Championships, which will be played in Germany.
shows all Huuhkajie’s qualifying matches live.