“Let’s just follow the ball” – Erling Haaland 2.0 took care of the end

Finland will play its second European Championship qualifying match on Sunday, March 26, when it will face Northern Ireland away from home. The live broadcast on TV2, Areena, the app and the website starts at 9:15 p.m. The match starts at 21:45.

Huuhkajat fought for a point in 80 minutes in the opening of the EC qualifiers against Denmark on Thursday night. In the end, Denmark deservedly won the match 3–1.

Especially in Denmark’s 1–0 lead goal, the problems of Huuhkajie’s game, which are not new, were fatally visible. Finland has improved its offensive direction, but after the previous European Championships, there have been significant pain points in defense.

One of the problems is related to defending the penalty area and preventing opponents from scoring.

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Let’s look at how the hat trick hero Rasmus Höjlund was able to score Denmark’s opening goal in Huuhkajie’s net in the 21st minute of the game.

The Danes wrestled the ball Joel from Pohjanpalo in the middle area after Finland’s sideline throw. Martin Braithwaite was able to turn around and change sides. He played a pass to the right wing To Alexander Bah.

At this point, the situation was still under Huuhkajie’s control. There was practically only one dangerous opponent player in the goal, or at least Huuhkaj had a clear superiority. On the edge Oliver Antman made sure that Bah did not challenge, but focused. Focus led to the goal.

– There are two kinds of problems with Finland’s playing. The first is related to the positioning of the defenders in the goal. In this situation Robert Ivanov located from the front post towards the side border. The front striker, in this case Ivanov, should be positioned closer to the front post and protect the gap between the goalkeeper and the front area, Urheilu’s expert Jonne Kunnas start.

– Another problem comes from what here Leo Vaisänen does, i.e. how individuals are able to mark the opponent’s dangerous player. Höjlund makes a short stop and then sprints forward. Höjlund got Väisänen to change his business direction, and the space was created. In addition, Väisänen’s gaze was locked too much on the ball.

Denmark’s 2–1 winning goal came from a corner kick. It was a special-situation goal, but there was also a problem associated with it, which can be seen in Finland’s defense on a more general level. The Finnish players have difficulties to reorganize when the first concentration does not become a decisive position, but the situation continues.

– There will be too many situations where you only follow the ball. During the situation, you should be able to recognize who is a dangerous player and position yourself accordingly. Quite simply, you should also be able to tackle better, use your hands, tear and grate, Kunnas insists.

The head coach of Huahkaji Markku Kanerva was very disappointed after the match. He was also visibly frustrated by the mistakes and gave a long answer regarding the defense.

– Playing individuals plays a very decisive role, of course. The way we try to compensate for that is with team play. That we get support for the presser and thereby make it easier to play defensively. Not necessarily always successful today, among other things Kanerva said.

– Individual situations decide. It must also be said that football is based on the basics, quality work. Quite a few places were gifted to them, too easily, with bad passes.

Höjlund scored his third goal in the very last moments, in extra time of the match. He had time to take possession of the ball in five meters and turn it into the bottom corner of the goal. Höjlund could have scored more goals in the match without the Finnish captain Lukas Hradecky parade rescues.

The problems of defense erode the joys

In the big picture, Finland was able to keep Denmark well out of their defensive shape. Denmark struggled to advance.

– But if there are such tough challenges in defending one’s box, there is no joy in that. The benefits disappear when there are such big problems in protecting the own goal, Kunnas criticizes.

– This will be highlighted against Northern Ireland, who will surely concentrate a lot.

Denmark is one of the top countries in Europe, even though they lost the World Cup. Denmark is ranked tenth in the Fifa ranking, the eighth highest among European countries. Finland is ranked 56th, the 28th highest among European countries.

Kunnas agreed with Kanerva that there were elements in Finland’s game that were in better shape than before.

– Finland had a clear continuation of the opening game. There was a clear logic to be seen in what we were trying to achieve. This is related to how the field is filled and what kind of supports are given to the ball player, Kunnas stated.

There was also a development in that Finland got possessions closer to the opponent’s goal and thus better counterattack positions. The value of this is highlighted precisely against those who are better than before.

Finland went into the match bravely – however, the grouping does not decide

In recent years, Finland has been used to seeing mainly in a 5–3–2 formation. Now Finland started with four defenders.

– It doesn’t matter which group you play with, but how it is organized. Different game groupings can be organized for production in different ways. Finland has had challenges in defending the box on the line of five and now it was on the line of four, Kunnas sums up.

The purpose of the four defense lines was that Finland was able to press higher and thereby get prey higher. When Finland has played in a 5–3–2 format, the opponent has been able to tie down the Finnish defense line very easily. Then the journey to the opponent’s goal is very long, when the ball is finally seized.

In any case, Finland’s lineup for the match against Denmark was surprisingly attacking.

– You can always talk about game groups, but I take full responsibility for how the groups work and how they don’t. Today we boldly set out to challenge. The alternative was that we would have started to defend with 4–5–1 and we probably would have run after the ball a lot, Kanerva acknowledged.

Haaland 2.0

The 20-year-old Atalanta striker Höjlund played his way into the hearts of the Danish audience with a hat trick. He has now played three A national matches and scored three goals. The hat trick was born in the first qualifying match of his career.

Höjlund is extremely versatile. He is able to participate in the quarterbacking in front of the defensive line as well as provide a threat in the backfield. He is fast, physically strong and good at disappearing from defenders with his small movements.

– The future has not been talked about for nothing About Erling HaalandKunnas smiled.

Højlund moved from Austrian Sturm Graz to Serie A last summer. According to Goal (you switch to another service) Höjlund himself had compared himself to Haaland when he moved to Austria. Since then, he has been titled “Haaland 2.0” and “Haaland of Denmark” in various media. Atalanta’s head coach also used the same comparison Gian Piero Gasperini.

– This is hard to put into words. The wildest experience of my life, if I’m completely honest, Höjlund was happy about his hat trick In an interview with Denmark’s Yleisradio (you will switch to another service).

Antman worth its weight in gold

Finland’s goal in the match against Denmark was also completed by Oliver Antman, a man with only a few international caps. The 21-year-old winger has now scored three goals in four international matches. Antman hit both in his national team debut in the Nations League and now in his first adult qualifying game.

– He is a completely different style of player than anyone else in Finland. He has enough speed and can pass with the ball with quality, thereby creating a threat. Deservedly rising to a big role, Kunnas said.

Antman regretted the loss to Denmark, but commented on his own performance with justified confidence.

– Yes, it feels like I always score a goal when I go on the field.

Finland will play its second European Championship qualifying match on Sunday, March 26, when it will face Northern Ireland away from home. The live broadcast on TV2, Areena, the app and the website starts at 9:15 p.m. The match starts at 21:45.