will show Huuhkajie’s EC qualifying matches live. The broadcast of Thursday’s Denmark match starts at 21:00 on TV2, Areena and the app.
It’s time to dream again. On Wednesday, the Finnish men’s national football team will start the European Championship qualifiers for the 2024 games organized by Germany.
The latest European Championship qualifiers ended with a dream come true for Finland. Huuhkajat achieved the first ranking place in its history and ended decades of torment.
After the European Championships, Finland has already had time to play World Cup qualifiers and two seasons of the Nations League. The national team’s game has developed even more over the years and the players have been renewed.
Although there are similarities to four years ago, upheavals have also taken place.
Sports expert Jonne Kunnas sums it up like this:
– Finland has improved its game, especially when it comes to attacking, but there are clear question marks and even distinct problems when it comes to playing defense.
Kunnas went through all the matches that Finland played in last year’s Nations League. In this story, he highlights the biggest problems in defensive play and shows where they lie with examples.
In this article, you can also evaluate for yourself how the Finnish players could act in difficult situations.
It’s not just about the players
Kunnas divides the problems of defensive play faced by Finland into two in several different ways. How does Finland defend the opponent’s quarterback and how does the Huuhkajat try to prevent the opponent from scoring.
Difficulties are encountered in blocking the quarterback, especially when the team plays the head coach Markku Kanervan in the preferred 5–3–2 formation.
It’s not a player-specific problem, but the solutions of the line of five defensive players chosen by Finland are easy to predict.
Because the Huuhkajat have chosen that the wingbacks defend the opponent’s wing players, the opposing team is able to really tie down the entire Finnish defense line with only three players.
– One option could be that the wingbacks on the ball side would defend the opponent’s lower player. In this case, the three toppers would move a longer distance in the direction of the width of the field, but the line would not fall so low.
The problem starts already higher up the field. The responsibilities of the Finnish forwards and midfielders in the press would require clarification.
– Now it is sometimes unclear who tries to start the press, whether they want to close the opponent to an area or whether they want to prevent Finland from getting into the shape. Huhkaji players are not always clear about who’s role is here, and in which situation.
The domino effect of tops
When the opponent gets to look for a scoring situation closer to the Finnish goal, the problems continue.
– As before, I would divide these into two parts. First to those where Finland defends in its form and then to those where the team is disorganized. Both of these can then be divided into team-level and individual-level challenges.
Let’s start when Finland is ready to defend in form.
– At the team level, Finland is unclear about how the bottom line defends as a group. There is some confusion about whether to guard players or defend territory. In addition, it is not known in which situation all this will start.
The lack of clarity leads to the positioning becoming proactive, front-oriented.
– Then, when anticipating, the Finnish toppers drift away from, for example, in front of the goal. It’s a domino effect: when one of the Toppars moves closer to the ball, the others move after him. In this case, especially the area behind them is really difficult to defend, Kunnas opens.
Ball watching and blocking
In the Romanian goal, we see a situation where Huuhkajat is out of order when defending. The home team counterattacks, but still the problems leading to the goal are the same as when Finland defends in form.
– You can see the emphasis on the front. When you don’t know which area you want to prioritize. In the video example Leo Vaisänen and Richard Jensen are drifting into an area where they are not defending anyone, Kunnas reflects.
– This highlights a bigger individual problem that applies to many Finnish defensive players.
Kunnas points out that Huuhkajie’s defensive players often “lock” themselves to a certain player and playing position. In this case, it is difficult to be aware of what is happening around, when the attacker is able to break free from the guard of the defender.
– That’s why it would be important to be able to keep your playing position open, so you can see the ball and your guard. Then you can also slow down the opponent, use your hands and body to defend yourself. These problems are visible to many Finns.
Three or two tops?
There has been a lot of talk in Finland about Huuhkajie’s choices between five lines and four lines, three and two toppers. The discussion already started during the summer 2021 European Championships and has continued ever since.
Markku Kanerva has closely stuck to his line of five defenders. However, even in the Nations League, Finland also played with four defenders in a couple of matches.
Would the sometimes challenging things change for the better with a line of four defenders, with only two top players playing?
Kunnas is thinking about the situation in which Finland is now with its defense problems. He starts with the advantages of a four-player line.
– The line of four makes it easier to organize the press. In this case, it is possible to get prey higher up, and then Finland also has a bigger threat of counterattacks.
The line of four brings challenges when the opponent is able to break the pressure of Huuhkajie.
– Then Finland has fewer players protecting the goal-scoring area in the defensive line, i.e. less than what is seen in previous examples.
What does Kunnas himself think?
– My honest opinion is that the grouping does not matter. It doesn’t guarantee anything. It matters how you organize the different phases of the defense. Whatever the shape, those steps can be done differently.
He emphasizes that it is important for Huuhkajis to consider highlighting their individual strengths and hiding their weaknesses.
– For example, if individuals have challenges defending the front of the goal, it is justified to use three toppers. But, as we just saw in the examples, it doesn’t guarantee anything.