Montenegro had a harder time last week Friday than what Finland could have imagined.
Head coach Marko Saloranta opened up his thoughts on how the guests would fall off the ride in Tampere.
– Today we have to try to play in such a way that we move our opponent. Create a threat upwards and aim upwards with our passes. The field (artificial grass) helps us with that. If we have a good tempo with the ball, we have to struggle less, Saloranta said.
He was referring to last Friday on the field, when the poor condition of the natural grass at the stadium in Podgorica clearly affected the playing along the ground. There is artificial turf in Tammela, which is often a strong advantage for Nordic football teams against others.
– We also need help from the judges today to maintain the tempo of the game. Montenegro should play like they did on Friday, interrupt the game and break the tempo by slowing down in every way. Even though the match was judged well in the last game, they were still able to do it, Saloranta even said surprisingly.
– In the last game, the ball was out of play for 45 minutes and 35 seconds. That’s what Montenegro was aiming for then and is still aiming for now.
Jussi Vainikka interviewed Saloranta.