Huhkajat will meet Portugal in Lisbon on June 4. at 21:45 and in Glasgow, Scotland on June 7. at 21:45. shows the matches on its channels.
The head coach of Huahkaji Markku Kanerva on Tuesday named his group for June’s international matches against Portugal and Scotland.
It’s about practice matches, but extremely tough ones. After all, Portugal is one of the big favorites of the EC tournament.
Scotland and Portugal are preparing for the European Championship in Germany with matches, while Huuhkajie’s next competitive matches are ahead in September, when the next Nations League starts.
A frustrating job site
For Kanerva, the team selections caused a particular headache, because it is not officially a Fifa international match window. Therefore, the clubs do not have to allow their players to the matches.
In the Veikkausliiga, matches will be played on June 2, 7 and 8. The North American MLS series and the Swedish Allsvenskan, for example, also run in the same way.
MTV Urheilu reports previously, that HJK and SJK do not allow their players to the national team. The teams meet in the Veikkausliiga on the same day when Finland plays Scotland as a guest.
At Huuhkajie’s media conference, Kanerva was really frustrated with the situation.
– There has been quite a lot of negotiation with the clubs. Unfortunately, the answer has often been “no” or “under certain conditions”, Kanerva said right at the beginning of the event.
Kanerva confirmed that, for example, HJK gave a clear answer that they would not allow their players.
– Well, that’s the club’s decision. The clubs have the last word. Of course, I try to justify to the clubs what is the benefit of the player playing national matches. I understand the club’s point of view.
Of course, Kanerva found the fact that Friendly matches are an opportunity to check out new players as a positive side. On the other hand, the head coach was angry that he didn’t get to choose all the players he wanted to see in the national team shirt.
– Of course there were other players in the plans, but due to the clubs’ situations, there was no chance to get them. It’s a bit sad. I understand certain challenges regarding match schedules, but I would like to think about how to always get all the best players to the national teams, Kanerva opened up.
– We are talking about the A national team, the under-21s or the under-19s, who all have an event now in June. However, because this is a big screen seam for the players, thinking about the future. The same goes for clubs.
No names from Veikkausliiga
According to Kanerva, it is a fact that agents come to watch national team games in particular.
– Unfortunately, no solution has been found for this. I suffer from it, Pikkuhuuhkajat suffers and the U19 team suffers. I hope that solutions to these would be found in time in the future.
Kanerva was asked how the conversational connection in the direction of the Veikkausliiga has been. Kanerva did not criticize the individual series directly, but said that he would have chosen 2-4 players from the Veikkausliiga for the national team.
– This is the whole. In any case, negotiations with the clubs had to be held. The biggest problem is that these are not international game days. After all, the clubs have to let the players into the qualifying games. There’s been a lot of screwing up.
HJK’s Top Middle is one Veikkausliiga player for whom appearing in the Portugal match at this stage of his career would have been a huge deal.
Playing in the Portuguese league Take the Glue, 19, on the other hand, is not on the Huuhkajie or Little Huhkajie trip because he wanted to go on vacation. Liimatta is an interesting face of the future, whose playing time in Famalicao has been limited, however.
Kanerva was asked what kind of signal it gives if a player does not want to join the national team.
– These are always personal things. There may be, for example, family reasons, certain personal things in the background. Then it may be that the player thinks at the end of the season that there is a risk in terms of the contract situation if I get injured.
– Of course, I hope that all the players have a strong desire to represent Huuhkaji, whether it’s at the beginning or the end of the season. That’s what I appreciate.
They are sidelined as injured players Fredrik Jensen, Marcus Forss, Kairinen too and Rasmus Schuller. Neither Jere Uronen and Daniel Håkans did not have time to recover to playing condition in time.
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The eight players selected for the Huuhkajii will still play the match on June 1 or 2, so it is clear that the Huuhkajis will have to think carefully about their lineup choices due to the strain.
For example Jesse Joronen and Joel Pohjanpalo play for Serie A promotion in the ranks of Venezia on June 2 and Djurgården on the same day Miro Tenho In Tukhkolma’s local game against Hammarby.
– The situation is that I will get the whole team together on 3.5. During the preparatory exercises in Lisbon, Kanerva wondered.
Three completely new names
In total, Kanerva put together a puzzle with eight new players compared to March’s EC further qualification: Leo Vaisänen, Tuomas Ollila, Urho Nissilä, Niilo Mäenpää and those raised from the U21 group Casper Terho, Juho Talvitie, Tomas Galvez and Leo Walta.
Midfielder Walta and wing players Talvitie and Terho received their first invitations to Huuhkaji. Midfielder Nissilä returns to the national team after a two-year break.
Kanerva praised the 20-year-old Leo Walta as a versatile midfielder with excellent kicking technique and who, despite his small size, is a tenacious fighter.
19-year-old Juho Talvitien’s Lommel fought for promotion to the Belgian premier league, but was disappointed. Kanerva considers Talvitie to be a good winger whose strengths are in 1vs1 play. You don’t find too many players like this in Huuhkaji.
Skilled winger Casper Terho, 20, has scored three goals in the Belgian league this season, but played very few minutes in the spring.
Huhkajat will meet Portugal in Lisbon on June 4. at 21:45 and in Glasgow, Scotland on June 7. at 21:45. shows the matches on its channels.