Helsinki Football Club striker Lotta Lindström was selected for the Finnish women’s national team for the first time. Helmarit will play twice against Croatia in the League of Nations at the end of October.
Helmarit will face Croatia in the Nations League match on Friday 27.10. at 6:45 p.m. Broadcast on TV2 and Areena from 18:15.
Lotta Lindström, 19, was named on Wednesday for the first time to the Finnish women’s national football team Helmarei. At the end of October, Finland will face Croatia twice in the Nations League.
The forward of Helsinki Football Club played his first season in the National League this season. Lindström won the goal exchange with 17 hits, and he also assisted on six goals. The player describes his season as going beyond expectations.
– Maybe I didn’t think about this when I started the season or when I signed the contract with HJK around this time last year. I’d say quite on the upswing. Sometimes there have been good moments, but there have also been a few weaker games. As a whole, you can look back on the past season with pride, Lindström estimates.
He has previously played in the under-19 national team. This year he made his debut in the under-23 group. Now Lindström will be able to join the A national team in the 50th anniversary match of Helmarei.
– The A national team has been one big dream ever since I started playing football. Of course, it’s always a big leap (from the U23 national team). Even now, in a short time, I’ve noticed that the differences are bigger and the level is harder, but it’s nice to get used to it.
Lindström returned from a long injury
Also the head coach of HJK Arttu Heinonen says that Lindström’s debut season exceeded expectations. Lindström scored 29 goals in 33 matches, when cup matches and league games are counted together. Before the start of the season, the attacker was sidelined for a year due to a knee injury.
– Lotta is still a young player and played a great debut season after a long injury. It created a challenging start to the season, but he accepted the role nicely, Heinonen says.
He describes Lindström as a fast player who is skilled with the ball. In addition to that, the attacker improved a lot in his game without the ball during the season, the coach estimated. For example, the timing of movements and breaking away from the opponent’s defenders have improved. According to Heinonen, Lindström can finish with both feet both from his own moves and with one touch.
– Lotta is a fun and nice teammate. Off the field, he causes the most amazing tricks. He is good at learning and likes watching video clips. He has analyzed with our talent coach every week how he could improve his game, says Heinonen.
Heinonen says that Lindström has a contract with HJK for next season, but the player regularly receives inquiries from other clubs.
– Attackers are always being looked for under every rock, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. If Lotta stays with us, I’ll be extremely happy or if she moves abroad, I’ll be extremely happy too.