According to experts, Finnish women’s football needs more versatile players and better coaching. Helmarit will continue to be the underdog, but the gap to the leading countries can be bridged with quality work.
17:04•Updated 17:04
Helmarit has lost both of its matches in the European Championship in England, when Spain was better 4–1 and Denmark 1–0 on Tuesday. The dream of the quarter-finals vanished once and for all when Germany beat Spain 2-0.
As expected, Finland has been the receiving side in a rock-hard group, and Helmarit has not been able to create many goal chances. Passing chains have been short, and the team hasn’t really been able to break into the opponent’s last third from slow or fast attacks.
Sports expert Liisa-Maija Rautio can see that when the demands of the game against the top countries in Europe and the world are tough, the Finnish players’ ability to make decisions is not enough.
– I think Finland deserves to participate in the Games, and there are worse countries. Still, when you think about the top teams, and Finland’s playing in the current material is based on counter-attacking, the individual player has to make decisions faster, says Rautio.
– When winning the ball, how can you produce a solution quickly in the direction of being able to be dangerous?
Rautio also highlights the need to get more versatile players for Finland who are able to play flexibly with different ways of playing. In addition, special skills are needed for different game locations.
– The more versatile the game can be, the higher the level can be. One way of playing and its strengths are easier to take away.
– Finland has quality and consistent players, but if you think about special skills, Tinja-Riikka Korpela, Linda Sällström and Natalia Kuikka emerge. The top countries have a lot of danger on the offensive end, and the big problem for me is, can Finland score goals? That’s pretty essential.
The changes are amazing
Sports expert Jonne Kunnasen in my opinion, Finland’s coaching has not been successful in the European Championships.
– If you look at the games and the coaching, quite a lot of equalization has been given compared to many countries. It can be seen in the organization of the different game phases.
Kunnas, who coaches HJK in the national league, points out, for example, that Finland has changed its defensive shape to match the opponent’s shape. That also happened against Denmark, when Helmarit switched to the bottom five in the middle of the match.
– I think it confuses the players’ actions. If the game is defended with a line of four and then five, the areas of responsibility change. It’s a patch and gimmick, Kunnas states.
Denmark’s attack was dulled by the line of five defenders. At the same time, however, it affected Finland’s own attacking game.
– I would rather see that problems are fixed by using a different role of the same format.
“The number of teams in the National League to be reduced”
The core of the Finnish team is experienced. The head coach Anna Signeul has received criticism for not giving younger players much of a chance in recent years. When the current value competitions are probably the last for many players, the younger ones will have more responsibility in the future.
Growing new players into bigger boots, on the other hand, could mean that the years to come are going to be less successful in terms of success.
In order for the players of the future generations to be able to narrow the gap to the top countries going forward, the players must be taken care of, and especially in the important development years after middle school, investments are hoped for.
– From the age of sixteen onwards, the combination of everyday life, school and side training, such as physics and sports skills training, is not of sufficient quality in many places. When we go to the National League, there are some places where things are done well, but there are too many teams in the league, Kunnas states.
– The Finnish Football Federation should reduce the number of teams in the league and demand high-quality criteria for operations. It is one step in improving domestic player development. If you just wait and hope for better, hardly anything will happen.
“Playing abroad is not an absolute value”
In recent weeks, Signeul has received criticism for his management style. According to Kunnas, however, points must be given to the Swede for the fact that with his help, many Finnish players have been able to advance their careers abroad.
Except everyone else from the Helmareite EC team Essi Sainio and Anna Westerlund play abroad. There are 12 players in the 23-player EC team from the Swedish league.
According to Rautio, the international field of women’s football is changing, where even Sweden’s once very tough league is no longer quite the top of the world.
– When the national league is not enough, you have to think about, for example, Sweden as the next intermediate step, but is that even enough? Quite a few Swedish players are also in the world, and for example Denmark has players in England.
Rautio sees that even the National League can at best be a good intermediate step on the way abroad, even though the difference between the top and the bottom of the league is big.
Kunnas reminds that playing abroad is not an absolute value. The environment must also be suitable and serve the player. He hopes that the domestic league won’t be pushed any further.
– Essi Sainio and Anna Westerlund played a full game against Denmark from the National League players. Sure, they are experienced players and the path has been different, but you can make an effort even from home.
– Sweden has reached England, and Natalia Kuikka has reached the United States, for example.
“The ball always with you”
The status of women’s football has risen significantly in recent years, and especially prestigious competitions are followed with a completely different piety than before. The dream of becoming a professional is a reality for more and more junior girls in Finland as well.
Both Rautio and Kunnas hope that junior coaches in Finland will get children and young people excited and fall in love with the sport. Rautio is worried about equalization.
– When I listen to the top players in the world, sometimes I get the feeling that we are killing such potential personalities with coaching? Do we start guiding the player’s actions too early in the direction of team tactics, or do we give room for creativity to arise, Rautio asks.
– The sport must be such a passion that the ball is always with you. It comes from the player himself, and the peaks have been quite a few hours with the ball. Spain is a good example of how much they already play small games at a young age.
Kunnas says he rejects the idea of a common, Finnish way of playing, with which even a smaller country could create a competitive advantage. In the coming years, too, Finland will be in an underdog position, from which striving for success requires an organized defensive game as a base.
According to Rautio, Finland cannot dream of having the player mass of the big countries. The gameplay is built around the available players.
– I also see the possibility that we are a small country. The way the junior national teams play is not the way the A national team plays. It is about the player material in use, but I hope that in the future we will get more versatile players so that we can play more surprising football.
You can find everything about the European football championships: games, background stories, news and highlights on ‘s competition pages. Finland will face Germany in the final game of the first group on Saturday at 22:00. Live broadcast of the match from 21:00 on TV1 and Areena. You can listen to the match on Puhe from 21:30.