The Finnish men’s national football team knocked down Montenegro 2-0 (2-0) in the League of Nations on Tuesday when Joel Pohjanpalo showed off his stunning finishing skills at the Olympic Stadium.
7.6. 20:52 • Updated June 7th. 21:20
A world-class paint monster Joel Pohjanpalo became the great hero of more than 17,000 spectators by making two full hits to the Montenegrin network at the opening half.
– A really balanced presentation from us. The match was killed in the first half. In the second period, we did not take unnecessary risks, and the opponent did not get to the finish line, Pohjanpalo was happy.
Pohjanpalo finished off his first post from the back post after being in the right place at the right time in the 31st minute. Behind the fine feed combinations was the opening feed provided Richard Jensen mixed Robin Lod and sent a decisive yummy pass with his left foot Teemu Pukki.
See Pohjanpalo 1–0 paint:
Seven minutes later, in the main season of Turkey, 16 goals were missed Lucas Lingmanin from a free kick ball skillfully from the air with one touch to the goal ceiling. The dazzling performance already led the Finnish special situation to a decisive 2–0 lead.
See Pohjanpalo 2-0 paint:
Finland only faced Montenegro for the first time at the men’s national team level, leaving with a defensive-focused 5-3-2 group to seek a mostly goal-free draw. However, the owls had the temperance to build artificial sites, although during the first half hour the break-in into the paint plots was not yet successful.
– Montenegro defended very closely. It was known. Started with three attackers, a little different than usual. It worked really well. Two great goals, especially the first one – when I saw it at that half time, so I was “wow”, it was a great team game, Pohjanpalo smiled.
There is no information about the chase in Montenegro
Montenegro took a triple break during the break and made their lineup more offensive. For it got a little more of a ball in the second half, but within the Finnish penalty area, its lunch was not enough for a decent finish.
Montenegro had recently risen from a losing streak against the Netherlands and Turkey, among others, but this time its letter remained weak.
Ground floor and captain of Finland Lukas Hradecky survived quite easily throughout the match. Montenegro’s most dangerous spot was seen 71 minutes into the game Zarko Tomasevic pushed the ball into Hradecky’s arms after the incident.
Huuhkajat made three substitutions in the 66th minute. They came to the field Rasmus Schüller, Onni Valakari and Marcus Forss. They made room for the trio Glen Chamber, Robin Lod and Teemu Pukki. The exchanges did not change the big picture of the game.
– We scored some places at the opening half, it always makes it easier to play. In the second half, the game might not have been the best for us anymore, but that was enough, Lod summed up the fight.
Head coach Markku Kanerva was pleased that the game plan worked out.
– In the beginning there was little search, and the feeds didn’t click right. Yes, it opened then. The overall contribution in terms of defense was good. It demanded hard work ethic, and it was shown by the team, Kanerva would frown.
The Owners started their League of Nations contract in a 1-1 home draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Montenegro grabbed a 2-0 home win over Romania in their opening game in the B-League. The second round of the B-League Group 3 match will be completed late Tuesday night as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Romania hit each other.
The owl’s tight match period – four matches to eleven days – continues in the League of Nations, with away matches in Romania and Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday 11th and next week’s Tuesday 14th June. Both matches start at 9:45 p.m. shows all Owners matches live.