Finland’s volleyball women’s European Championship qualification race culminates in Wednesday’s away match against the Czech Republic and Saturday’s home game against Montenegro. The third consecutive competition place is within reach of Finland.
TABOR. At Sportovní Hala Míri in Tabor, a familiar pattern is played in Finland’s preparatory training. Captain of the national women’s volleyball team, passari Kaisa Alanko toss the ball into the air and chopper Maid Korhonen hits the field with the force of the game tool. The sight is familiar from the last few years, but during the summer the two have hardly been seen playing together.
Alanko and Korhonen have been the power axis of Finland’s offensive game, which reached the European Championships twice in a row, for many years.
Now the blue and whites are close to the third place in the EC competition, but the power duo has suffered from injuries. While Korhonen is recovering from his hamstring injury, he has carried the Finnish attack on his backpack and was very successful in the qualifiers Suvi Kokkonen.
Kaisa Alanko was sidelined after the second game of the qualifiers after injuring her knee. However, to the delight of the Finnish fans, the passer from Vaasa returned to the field with the strength of his knees after a good week in Huili.
– In the beginning, there was a bit of getting a feel for the game, but now the knee can withstand games and training normally, Alanko smiles.
Korhonen’s game break has been significantly longer. He played his first substitutions of the national team summer last Saturday in Iceland, when Finland claimed a 3-0 away win in Kopavogur.
– The back leg against Iceland felt really good. The tempo of the game will probably be different against the Czech Republic, and the movement on the field may also be different. After the game, you know how you feel, says Korhonen.
Korhonen and Alanko are fit to play when Finland challenges the Czech Republic on Wednesday, which has already secured the victory in Group B of the European Championship qualifiers and a place in the competition.
The Czech Republic, which made it to the final of the Golden League in early summer, has played convincing qualifiers. It has lost only one set in its four matches, when Montenegro, which is fighting with Finland for the second European Championship ticket in the group, won the set with overtime balls in Pljevlja.
The Czech Republic doesn’t have a strange contribution in its home match, but for Finland there is no need to talk about a forced victory either. Having won three games out of four, Finland’s situation at the final climax of the qualifiers is good, as the third consecutive European Championship spot would be secured already on Wednesday with two set wins.
Even if there were no points against the Czechs, two set wins would still be enough for the tournament ticket in the Montenegro home game that ends the qualifiers. That match will be played on Saturday, September 10 in Joensuu.
Winnings are not necessary, but winnings are naturally played in both games.
– The players are not stupid, and the staff is not terribly stupid either. Yes, we know what the situation is, head coach Tapio Kangasniemi smirk.
– But there’s no point in thinking about it. Let’s play one game and one ball at a time, and see what happens. The starting points are good and exciting.
At least 50 fans of Finnish ball playing there
The national team gets to challenge the Czech Republic in Tabor without huge pressure, but the Finnish players have bitter memories of the home game a couple of weeks ago against the top team in the group.
In the opening set, Finland had several set points at Seinäjoki in the opening set at 24–19, but the Czech Republic won the set 26–24 on the back of seven consecutive points and took the entire match 3–0 despite Finland’s occasional good moments.
Also against Montenegro and Iceland, Finland has had great difficulties in the final moments of the sets they were in possession of.
– The volleyball game goes in such a way that it is thought that every ball is the same. Two equal groups play, so it’s like throwing a crown and a clavate. It can be six for one and six for another. Let’s just make sure that we win one more of them, Kangasniemi acknowledges the doubts about the difficulties in the final moments of the sets.
Kaisa Alanko says that losing the set win in Seinäjoki is weighing on her mind in a good way.
– Yes, it haunts me so much that now I absolutely have to take revenge. It was shown there that we have a chance to win a set, two, even a game from the Czech Republic, the captain promises.
The key role in the top match of the group on Wednesday will be passing, blocking and defensive play. At Seinäjoki, Finland was able to shake down a tough opponent with them, but the Czech routine was too much even a couple of weeks ago.
There haven’t been many Finnish supporters seen in the away games of the current European Championship qualifiers, but according to preliminary information, at least a busload of Finns are coming to Tabor on Wednesday.
The basketball association has organized the bus, and the associations have jointly purchased the entrance tickets.
– A very great thing. Especially when sports federations still cooperate to do something like this, it’s great, Piia Korhonen praises and praises the Finnish ball culture.
Tabor is played in a small Sportovní Hala Mír with about a thousand spectators. Even a busload of Finns who made a lot of noise in Prague can create a good atmosphere for the visiting team in South Bohemia as well.
You can watch the Czech-Finland match on TV2 on Wednesday 7 September. from 6:50 p.m. The final match of the European Championship qualifiers Finland–Montenegro will be played on Saturday, September 10. The broadcast of the match starts on TV2 at 17:15.