Finland_men's_national_football_team

Finland national football team

Finland national football team

Men's association football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Finland women's national football team.

The Finland national football team (Finnish: Suomen jalkapallomaajoukkue, Swedish: Finlands fotbollslandslag) represents Finland in men's international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland, the governing body for football in Finland, which was founded in 1907. The team has been a member of FIFA since 1908 and a UEFA member since 1957.

Quick Facts Nickname(s), Association ...

Finland had never qualified for a major tournament until securing a spot at UEFA Euro 2020.[3] After decades of average results and campaigns, the nation made progress in the 2000s, achieving notable results against established European teams and reaching a peak of 33rd in the FIFA World Rankings in 2007. Afterward, their performances and results declined, drawing them to their all-time low of 110th in the FIFA Rankings in 2017. Seven years after their all-time low in the FIFA Rankings, as of April 2024, they sit at 61st place in the overall ranking.[4]

History

Finland team playing a Moscow XI in Moscow 1912

Early history

The Football Association of Finland was founded in 1907 and became a member of FIFA the next year. At the time, Finland was an autonomous grand duchy ruled by the Russian Emperors. Finland played its first international on 22 October 1911, as Sweden beat the Finns at the Eläintarha Stadium in Helsinki. Finland participated the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, beating Italy and the Russian Empire, but losing the bronze medal match against the Netherlands.

Period of dispersion

The Finnish national team against Denmark in 1933

After the 1918 Civil War, the Finnish sports movement was divided into the right-wing Finnish Gymnastics and Sports Federation (SVUL) and the leftist Finnish Workers' Sports Federation (TUL), Finnish Football Association was a member of the SVUL.[5] Both sides had their own championship series, and between 1919 and 1939 the Finland national team was selected of the Football Association players only. The Finnish Workers' Sports Federation football team in turn, participated in the competitions of the international labour movement.[6]

However, since the late 1920s several top footballers defected from TUL and joined the Football Association to be eligible for the national team. During the 1930s, these ″defectors″ formed the spine of the national team. For example, the Finland squad at the 1936 Summer Olympics was composed of eight former TUL players.[6] In 1937, Finland participated the FIFA World Cup qualification for the first time, losing all three matches against Sweden, Germany and Estonia.

Since 1939, TUL players were selected for the national team and finally, in 1956, the TUL and Football Association series were merged.[6]

Post-war years

The 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki saw the Finnish hosts lose to Austria in the first round. Finland did, however, win the unofficial Nordic championship in 1964 and 1966.[7]

Finland also took part in European Championship qualifying since the 1968 event, but had to wait for its first win until 1978.

Late 20th century

Finnish team after the victory over Yugoslavia in 1950
Finland against the Netherlands from 1975

Finland missed out on qualification for Euro 1980 by just a point and for the 1986 World Cup by two points. Finland was invited to take part in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow after many Western countries announced they would boycott the games, but failed to progress from its group.

By the mid-1990s Finland started to have more players in high-profile European leagues, led by Ajax superstar Jari Litmanen.[8] In 1996, Euro 1992-winning coach Richard Møller Nielsen was hired to take Finland to the 1998 World Cup. The team enjoyed mixed fortunes in the campaign, the high points of which were a draw and a win away to Norway and Switzerland respectively. Going into the last match, Finland would have needed a win at home to Hungary to earn a place in the play-offs. They led the game 1–0 going into injury time, but scored an own goal, and their qualification campaign was over. Møller Nielsen also tried to lead Finland to Euro 2000. In this campaign, the Finns recorded a sensational win away to Turkey, but couldn't compete with Germany and Turkey in the long run.

Jari Litmanen is widely regarded as Finland's greatest footballer of all time.

Antti Muurinen succeeded Møller Nielsen as coach in 2000. He had arguably the most talented group of Finnish players ever at his disposal, including players such as Antti Niemi, Sami Hyypiä, Teemu Tainio and Mikael Forssell in addition to the legendary Litmanen. The team also performed quite well under him in qualification for the 2002 World Cup despite a difficult draw, earning two draws against Germany and a home draw with England as well as beating Greece 5–1 in Helsinki. In the end, however, England and Germany proved too strong, and the Finns finished third in the group, but were the only team in that group not to lose at home. Hopes were high going into qualification for Euro 2004 after the promising last campaign and friendly wins over the likes of Norway, Belgium and Portugal (which seen the Finns jump from 40th to 30th in the Elo ranking[9]). However, Finland started the campaign by losing to Wales and Yugoslavia (later Serbia and Montenegro, now two separate nations). These losses were followed by two defeats by Italy, and a 3–0 home win over Serbia and Montenegro was little consolation, as the Finns finished fourth in the group. In qualification for the 2006 World Cup Finland failed to score a single point in six matches against the top three teams in their group, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Romania. Muurinen was sacked in June 2005, and he was replaced by caretaker Jyrki Heliskoski, but results didn't improve.

In August 2005, it was announced that Englishman Roy Hodgson would become the new Finland coach in 2006, and he started the job in January of that year. Hodgson stepped down as manager after they failed to qualify for Euro 2008.[10] His replacement was a Scotsman, Stuart Baxter, who signed a contract until the end of the 2012 European Championship qualification campaign.[11]

Recent history

Markku Kanerva managed to lead his Finnish national team to first time qualification to a UEFA European Tournament.

In the Euro 2008 qualifying Finland needed to win their last qualifying game away to Portugal to qualify for their first major football tournament. However, the match ended 0–0 meaning the team missed out on qualification to the tournament, with Finland ending the group stage with 24 points and Portugal with 27 points. However, the performance in qualifying led to the Finns gaining their best-ever FIFA world ranking to date at 33rd.

The 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign under new head coach Stuart Baxter saw Finland again finish third in their group with five wins, three draws and two defeats. They were the only team in qualifying not to lose to eventual 3rd-place finishers Germany; in both the home and away matches Finland had led Germany only to concede late equalizers. Finland finished a disappointing fourth in Euro 2012 qualifying, with only three wins, two of them against minnows San Marino.

In the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, Finland's best result was a 1–1 draw at reigning world champions Spain. They finished third in the five-team Group I, behind Spain and France. Finland finished fourth in Euro 2016 qualifying but achieved another noteworthy result. Joel Pohjanpalo's goal gave the Finns a 1–0 win at former European champions Greece, who had reached the second round of the 2014 World Cup and were the top seeds of their qualifying group.

The 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign saw Finland finish a disappointing fifth in their group with only two wins, although one of them was over Iceland, who finished top of the qualifying group.

On 15 November 2019, Finland managed to qualify to the first major tournament, UEFA Euro 2020, in their history after defeating Liechtenstein 3–0.[12][3] The successful qualifying campaign in Group J, was aided by a distinctive performance of Teemu Pukki, who scored ten goals in the qualifications.[13]

On 12 June 2021 in the Euro 2020 Finland had their first victory on their debut in a major tournament finals, Joel Pohjanpalo scored the only goal, a header in a 1–0 win over Denmark to grant his country their first goal and win in a major competition.[14] Unfortunately, having lost the next two games from both Russia and Belgium to finish third, Finland was eliminated from the group stage alongside fellow debutants North Macedonia as a result of their poor performance after being edged out by fourth placed team Ukraine among third place teams due to goal difference.

Home stadiums

Helsinki Central Station lantern carriers dressed in national colours during the 2020 European Championships in 2021
Finnish national team supporters at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in 2009

Most of Finland's home matches are played at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in the capital, Helsinki. It has been Finland's principal home stadium ever since its construction was completed in 1938. Before that, Pallokenttä in Helsinki was mainly used.

Today, some qualifying matches against lower profile opponents and some friendlies are hosted at the Tampere Stadium in Tampere and Veritas Stadion in Turku. Helsinki's Bolt Arena, which has artificial turf, is also used for some friendlies and qualifiers. During the reconstruction of Helsinki Olympic Stadium in 2016–20, Tampere Stadium served as the main stadium for qualifying games.

Kits and crest

Finland's home kit worn at UEFA Euro 2020
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Finland national football team kits.

Finland's kit are currently supplied by American brand Nike. They replaced German company Adidas, who supplied Finland's kits between 1979 and 2013.

Kit sponsorship

More information Kit supplier, Period ...

Results and fixtures

Main article: Finland national football team results (2020-present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

16 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Finland  2–0  Slovenia Helsinki, Finland
21:45 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Attendance: 32,560
Referee: Guillermo Cuadra Fernández (Spain)
19 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Finland  6–0  San Marino Helsinki, Finland
21:45 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Attendance: 32,812
Referee: Genc Nuza (Kosovo)
7 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Kazakhstan  0–1  Finland Astana, Kazakhstan
20:00 UTC+6 Report
Stadium: Astana Arena
Attendance: 30,019
Referee: Radu Petrescu (Romania)
10 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Finland  0–1  Denmark Helsinki, Finland
19:00 UTC+3 Report
Stadium: Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Attendance: 32,571
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
14 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Slovenia  3–0  Finland Ljubljana, Slovenia
18:00 UTC+2
Report Stadium: Stožice Stadium
Attendance: 15,823
Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy)
17 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Finland  1–2  Kazakhstan Helsinki, Finland
19:00 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Attendance: 30,375
Referee: Irfan Peljto (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
17 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Finland  4–0  Northern Ireland Helsinki, Finland
19:00 UTC+2
Report Stadium: Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Attendance: 28,711
Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (Azerbaijan)
20 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying San Marino  1–2  Finland Serravalle, San Marino
20:45 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Stadio Olimpico de Serravalle
Attendance: 1,427
Referee: Manfredas Lukjančukas (Lithuania)

2024

21 March 2024 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs Wales  4–1  Finland Cardiff, Wales
20:45
Report
Stadium: Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 32,162
Referee: István Kovács (Romania)
26 March 2024 Friendly Finland  2–1  Estonia Helsinki, Finland
17:00
Report
Stadium: Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Attendance: 12,559
Referee: Mads Kristoffersen (Denmark)
4 June 2024 Friendly Portugal  4–2  Finland Lisbon, Portugal
19:45 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Estádio José Alvalade
Attendance: 43,125
Referee: Christian-Petru Ciochirca (Austria)
7 June 2024 Friendly Scotland  2–2  Finland Glasgow, Scotland
19:45 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Hampden Park
Attendance: 40,519
Referee: Łukasz Kuźma (Poland)
7 September 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Group 2 Greece  v  Finland Athens, Greece
Stadium: Agia Sophia Stadium
10 September 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Group 2 England  v  Finland London, England
Stadium: Wembley Stadium
10 October 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Group 2 Finland  v  Republic of Ireland Helsinki, Finland
Stadium: Bolt Arena
13 October 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Group 2 Finland  v  England Helsinki, Finland
Stadium: Helsinki Olympic Stadium
14 November 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Group 2 Republic of Ireland  v  Finland Dublin, Ireland
Stadium: Aviva Stadium
17 November 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Group 2 Finland  v  Greece Helsinki, Finland
Stadium: Helsinki Olympic Stadium

Coaching staff

[15][16][17]

More information Position, Name ...

Coaching history

As of 7 September 2023.
More information Tenure, Nat ...

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for friendlies against Portugal and Scotland on 4 and 7 June 2024, respectively.[18][19]

Caps and goals as of 7 June 2024, after the match against  Scotland.

More information No., Pos. ...

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last twelve months and are still available for selection.

More information Pos., Player ...

Player records

As of 7 June 2024[20]
  Players still active are highlighted in blue

Most appearances

Jari Litmanen is Finland's most capped player with 137 appearances.
More information Rank, Player ...

Top goalscorers

Teemu Pukki is Finland's top scorer with 42 goals.
More information Rank, Player ...

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

More information FIFA World Cup record, Qualification record ...

UEFA European Championship

Main article: Finland at the UEFA European Championship
More information UEFA European Championship record, Qualifying record ...

UEFA Nations League

More information UEFA Nations League record, Season ...

Olympic Games

More information Olympic Games record, Year ...

Nordic Football Championship

More information Nordic Football Championship record, Year ...

Baltic Cup

More information Baltic Cup record, Year ...

Head-to-head record

This list is Finland national team complete records, both friendlies and competitive matches.[21]

As of 7 June 2024[22]
More information Opponent, GP ...
More information Against, Played ...

Honours

Minor tournaments

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Archived 8 May 2023 at the Wayback Machine
  2. [2]
    "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  3. [3]
    "Finland qualifies for major soccer tournament for 1st time". ESPN.com. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  4. [4]
    "FIFA Rankings". Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  5. [5]
    Andersen, Svein S.; Ronglan, Lars Tore (2012). Nordic Elite Sports: Same Ambitions – Different Tracks. Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School Press. pp. 85–88. ISBN 978-876-30024-5-5. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  6. [6]
    Syrjäläinen, Antti (2008). Miksi siksi loikkariksi? Huippu-urheilijoiden loikkaukset TUL:sta SVUL:oon 1919–1939. Joensuu: University of Joensuu. pp. 45–47. ISBN 978-952-21913-7-3. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  7. [7]
    "Nordic Championships 1964–67". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  8. [8]
    Thomas Floyd (11 June 2021) [2021-06-09]. "Finland has had a cursed soccer past. Now, as a first-time Euro qualifier, it is ready to believe". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.[please check these dates]
  9. [9]
    "World Football Elo Ratings: Finland". World Football Elo Ratings. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  10. [10]
    Hodgson to return for Inter role Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine BBC Sport, 1 December 2007
  11. [11]
    "Suomen Palloliitto – Etusivu". Archived from the original on 25 May 2011.
  12. [12]
    "Finland 3–0 Liechtenstein". BBC. 15 November 2019. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  13. [13]
    "Teemu Pukki: From failures in Europe to Finland great – the fall and rise of the Norwich striker". BBC. 12 October 2019. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  14. [14]
    "Denmark 0–1 Finland". BBC Sport. 12 June 2021. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  15. [15]
    "Markku Kanerva A-maajoukkueen päävalmentajaksi". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  16. [16]
    "Sivua ei löydy". www.palloliitto.fi. 11 May 2022. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  17. [17]
    "Valmennus ja joukkueenjohto". www.palloliitto.fi.[permanent dead link]
  18. [18]
    "Huuhkajat nimetty kesäkuun A-maaotteluihin". www.palloliitto.fi. 28 May 2024.
  19. [19]
    "Arttu Hoskonen kuntoutui Huuhkajiin, Joel Pohjanpalo ja Jesse Joronen tulevat vasta Skotlantiin". www.futisuutiset.fi. 3 June 2024.
  20. [20]
    Mamrud, Roberto. "Finland – International Player Records". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  21. [21]
    "FIFA Tournaments - Compare Teams". Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  22. [22]
    "Finland – Historical results". Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
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