The Finnish women’s national football team’s year in the Cyprus tournament started in a happy mood: Helmarit won all three of their matches with a goal difference of 16–1, while in the final game of the tournament on Wednesday, Romania fell with a clear score of 4–0.
They succeeded in scoring on Wednesday Jutta Rantala, Heidi Kollanen, Nora Heroum and San Francisco.
Successes in the tournament were seen on a wide front and no less than ten different players managed to score. All 25 players named to the camp got responsibility in the tournament.
– A really convincing thing to do. At no point did we accept as an explanation that we are trying out different formations and playing with a large group, but we wanted results. We got three fully deserved wins and controlled the game well. The things that we wanted to file between the matches went just fine, the head coach of the national team Marko Saloranta your sum.
The captain of the national team who guarded the goal in the last match Tinja-Riikka Korpela could focus mainly on sunbathing. However, according to Korpela, the victories were good for the team’s self-confidence.
– As the tournament progressed, you could see that every time there was a win, everyone grew five centimeters taller. It can be seen in the game, we dare to do the things in games that have been agreed upon and we are brave with the ball and tough without the ball. We enjoyed this tournament victory, this is not everyday!
Finland’s start is quite different compared to last year: last February, in the tournament in France, Helmarit experienced two losses and played a goalless draw against Brazil. Finland did not succeed in scoring a single time and conceded eight goals.
Of course, the opponents are also of a different class: France, Holland and Brazil can be found in the five, eight and nine places in the Fifa ranking, while Romania, Hungary and Croatia are in the 40th, 42nd and 60th places.
In total, last year, Finland won only one of its A national matches, when Georgia, ranked 128th in the world, fell 6–0 in the World Cup qualifiers. In total, Helmarit managed to score 11 times in all 13 matches they played, which means that last year’s number of goals has already been exceeded.
The failed performances also cost Finland its first place in the World Cup in history.
Early on Wednesday morning, Portugal succeeded in the trick, ahead of whom Finland grabbed the race ticket in the European Championship qualifiers. From Finland’s World Cup qualifying group, group winner Sweden and group runner-up Ireland made it to the games, to which Helmarit lost twice in the qualifiers.
However, Portugal eventually also made it to the European Championship, when Russia was excluded from the competition.
– Good for Portugal, all credit to them and cheers for the World Cup. But once again there was such an irritation that we didn’t get there.. But that’s how it goes, you have to win the right games. We know that the race venue was not far, there are many routes to get there.. Nothing else but towards the next races, the captain summed up.
Midfielder in the middle of the commotion
During the tournament in Cyprus, the biggest headlines were not focused on the Helmareit’s winning performances, but the midfielder Eveliina Summaen. Summanes, representing Tottenham, was banned for two matches by the English Football Association for “misleading the judge” (you switch to another service)when he was considered to have played Manchester United Ella Toone in the situation that led to the elimination in the meeting between Tottenham and Manchester United on Sunday, February 12.
Instead, the suspension that followed Toone’s red card was overturned.
In the response given to the union, Summanen denied that he had misled the judge, but the union did not relent. Summanen is sidelined for the FA Cup weekend match against Reading and the team’s next Super League game against Manchester City.
The rare verdict caused an uproar on social media. Some accused the association of favoring England’s national team players, while others thought the punishment was correct and hoped for similar sentences for the men’s football side as well.
Tottenham said he was surprised by the verdict (you switch to another service) and his frustration with the union’s inconsistent discipline.
– We support Eve and are completely on her side. Everyone must have seen what happens there. It’s other people who decide and they can’t do anything about it. That’s what we’re going with. Of course, this is a shame for us, Eve is an important player and now on the sidelines for the next couple of games. Someone else will then get a spot on the screen and Eve will come back even stronger, Korpela commented on the fate of her teammate.
In Cyprus, Summanen didn’t show any excitement: in the opening match against Croatia, he scored a beautiful free kick goal in the third minute and continued scoring goals against Hungary as well.
Three debutants and the 12th player to break a hundred international matches
The women’s A national team has experienced big changes after the European Championships: the head coach Anna Signeul was allowed to leave and of the conker players who got regular playing time Anna Westerlund, Tuija Hyyrynen and Essi Sainio ended their playing career.
After Signeul, Saloranta, who became the head coach of the national team, has reformed the team, and Cyprus again saw three A national team debutants: Nanne Ruuskanen, Joanna Tynnilä and Milla-Maj Majasaari.
– They have come in with great enthusiasm, you would think that they have been involved even longer, Korpela praises.
On the other hand, the team also has experience: Emmi Alanen played her 100th international A match and became the 12th women’s A national team player to cross the 100 A international mark. Among the current players, apart from Alanen, only Sällström and Korpela have reached it.
– Absolutely amazing, amazing feeling. Of course, this has been a long-term dream and dream, but you never know if it will come true. To be speechless, it’s really great, Alanen summed up her mood.
Next, Helmarit will play at the beginning of April and possibly face Slovakia.
– It is a bit open, it may be that there will be two different opponents. In July, the goal would be to perform in front of the home crowd before the autumn League of Nations, says Saloranta.
The first Nations League in women’s history starts in the fall, and the EC qualifiers next spring.