Sunday’s loss against Greece was the final straw for Huuhkajie’s great year. According to experts, there is no aspect of the game that has developed during the fall.
The autumn of the Finnish men’s national football team boils down to the number zero. With that score, the road goes to the C level in the Nations League, and with that score it is difficult to make an effort towards next year’s World Cup qualifiers.
Pain and depression were strongly present in the words and essence of the players after the Greek defeat at the Olympic Stadium.
In the stands, the head coach expressed his disappointment Markku Kanervan and the chairman of the Football Association Ari Lahten towards stations. The enthusiasm raised by the 2021 EC final tournament place has disappeared. The audience has returned to the echoes and times when supporters have demanded their turn, among other things Antti Muurinen and Mixu Paatelainen fired from the position of head coach.
– This is typical in football. When, like in professional sports, things don’t go well, then we are dissatisfied and let it be heard. You have to endure it and try to focus on the tasks you can influence, Urheilu’s expert Toni Koskela said after the match.
The crowd for the Greece match, a good 17,000, was decent considering the prevailing situation. For comparison, the European Championship qualifying match against Azerbaijan, played almost to the day 17 years ago, only gathered a good 10,000 spectators in the stands, even though Finland still had a realistic chance of advancing to the European Championship at that time.
– After all, it’s also caring that people manage to come here and have opinions, Koskela said.
The current national team year started in March in the European Championship play-off in Wales, where Huuhkajat was in trouble right from the first minutes and lost 1–4. Kanerva’s position was already a topic of conversation at that time, but in June it was announced that his contract was extended. Only the rest of the coaching group changed.
No change has been seen on the field and in the results.
– Ambiguity is a term that can be used to describe autumn. There have been different principles and metrics, but when you look at the game, the problems are largely the same, Koskela stated.
– How it looks to me on the field, so many things have been tried to influence. Now I feel that there are no clear things that would have changed for the better. There is no part of the game where you can say, hey, that works better now than before, Urheilu’s expert Antti Pohja continued.
The World Cup qualifier opponents will be determined after the group draw held in mid-December. Was the whole autumn of six losses wasted for Huuhkajie?
– I guess it will never be completely wasted. A few players have made their debuts. Top Middle has played strong games and been a clear threat. There are individual positive things there, says Koskela.
– But there is not a single person in this world who says that it is good to go from here to March. There are an awful lot of questions. What is the stone base built from, what brings the race venue. That’s the big question.