After three losses, Finland returned to a winning position in the European Championship football qualifiers at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. The routine performance was enough for a 4–0 victory over Northern Ireland.
Pertti Lappalainen,
Sami Laine
After a sluggish start, the Finnish national football team convincingly defeated Northern Ireland 4–0 in the last match of the European Championship qualifiers. Joel Pohjanpalo scored a penalty kick at the end of the opening half to give Huuhkaji a 1–0 halftime lead.
In the second half, Finland completed three hits, the last two of which were scored by the power duo familiar from last years. First hit Teemu Pukkithen Robin Lod.
– “Röba” is always nice to play with. Usually he has passed, luckily today it went the other way. At least I’ve missed it, it’s great to see him on the field, Pukki gushed after the match in an interview with .
Final score 4–0 Huuhkajie’s familiar pair of radars from last years had a treat at the end of the actual game time. Pukki passed with a precise and timely pass to Lodi’s brilliant spot and the midfielder did not make a mistake.
Lod had been on the sidelines for half a year due to a knee injury. The last national team match was in March.
– It felt really good. Nice to get to the field after a long time. This was a good game from us, there were no dangerous situations in Northern Ireland at any point, Lod said in the interview.
Pukki, on the other hand, broke his dry season in the national team with a great shot at the end of a quick attack. Puki’s previous hit for the national team came against San Marino in June.
The Huhkaji radar pair are now also neighbors in Minnesota, where Lod has been playing for longer. Pukki moved to the city’s MLS team last summer.
At the beginning of the second half Daniel Håkans completed a wonderful 2–0 hit Glen Kamaran input. The wind-quick winger, who came rushing into the national team in the summer by scoring a hat-trick in San Marino’s net, was repeatedly dangerous until his substitution. Håkans’ Explosiveness opened Finland’s attacking game in the last third.
– Really good feelings, good performance from us. It’s even more sad now that the last few games didn’t go so well, Håkans said in an interview.
Finland lost its three previous European Championship qualifying matches dully. At the same time, the team lost its chance to advance to next summer’s European Championships through its qualifying group. Finland can still try for a place in the European Championships in March from the further qualifiers.
Håkans saw a change in Finland’s playing compared to previous matches.
– We played more straightforwardly than in previous matches. It worked, we were dangerous, he assessed.
At the same time, the 23-year-old winger praised the atmosphere of the Olympic Stadium.
– It’s always an honor to play here, we have wonderful fans, Håkans praised.
The slow start was forgotten in the second half
Finland’s start to the match was quiet, but at the end of the opening half, the home team became more dangerous with the ball. Assistant coach of the team Mika Nurmela said at halftime that the team made changes in the middle of the match.
– We changed our press in the middle of the half, we went to a 4-4-2 formation. It clarified the players’ roles, Nurmela said in an interview with .
In the offensive game, Finland was at its most dangerous already in the opening half, when the team was able to challenge Northern Ireland’s defense line with vertical runs.
– Every time we played the ball behind the defensive line, we were dangerous. If we can get into the half of the field like this freely, we have to have starters in the back, Nurmela analysed.
The instructions of the coaching staff brought results, because in the second half Finland solved the match quickly. Håkans’ goal came less than three minutes into the game and seemed to break the backbone of Northern Ireland. In the end, the visiting team only had two shots on goal.
Finland ends its European Championship qualifier against San Marino on Monday. The match starts at 21:45 and broadcast on channels at 21:15.
Finland won on Friday 17.11. Northern Ireland 4–0.
1–0 Joel Pohjanpalo, 42 min. (from penalty kick)
2–0 Daniel Håkans, 48 min.
3–0 Teemu Pukki, 74 min.
4–0 Robin Lod, 88 min.
Denmark–Finland 3–1
Northern Ireland–Finland 0–1
Finland–Slovenia 2–0
Finland–San Marino 6–0
Kazakhstan–Finland 0–1
Finland–Denmark 0–1
Slovenia–Finland 3–0
Finland–Kazakhstan 1–2
Finland–Northern Ireland 4–0
Mon 20.11. at 21:45 San Marino–Finland
The best two of the group will qualify for the summer 2024 European Championships, which will be played in Germany. shows all Huuhkajie’s qualifying matches live.