Finland hosts Denmark at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in a battle for first place in Group H.
Key Takeaways
- Last time out,Finland beat Kazakhstan 0-1
- Denmark beat San Marino 4-0 in its last match
- Last time the two teams met, Denmark beat Finland 3-1
Having lost their opening match against Denmark, Finland went on to win four straight matches to take top spot in the group. Denmark hopes to take top spot from them if they win this match.
Finland Form
In the first match of their Euro Qualifying campaign, Finland lost by 3-1 to Denmark, but then won the next four games to finish top of group H with 12 points out of 15. After beating Northern Ireland, they won Slovenia and San Marino with impressive 2-0 and 6-0 victories.
In Finland's last match against Kazakhstan, they had to dig deep to find the match winner. Ultimately, Oliver Antman found the match winner with a team goal in the 78th minute. This goal kept them two points ahead of Denmark at the top of the tables.
Denmark Form
After starting the Euro Qualifying campaign with a 3-1 win against Finland, Kasper Hjulmand's side lost their second match despite holding a 2-0 lead in the first half.Things have looked shaky for them at the back. Kasper Hjulmand will hope to turn their fortune around and build a compact back four to avoid conceding goals far too easily.
They have gone on a three-match unbeaten run since then, winning 1-0 against Northern Ireland, drawing 1-1 against Slovenia and winning by 4-0 against San Marino. As a team, they possessed 86 percent of the ball against San Marino and also took 32 shots.
Head-to-Head
There have been three meetings between Finland and Denmark, with Finland winning one match and losing the other two. Denmark won the most recent meeting 3-1.
Team News
In this match, Finland will be without their top scorer of the Euro qualifiers, Daniel Hakans, who is recovering from an illness. Markku Kanerva will have the rest of the players available for selection.
As The Danes will be without Right Back Alexander Bah, who plays for Benfica. Kasper Hjulmand will want to bring Rasmus Hojlund and Andreas Christensen back to the starting eleven after resting them last time out.
Key Players
Finland's record goal scorer is Teemu Pukki, who has 38 goals in 113 appearances. Oliver Antman will keep his spot after scoring the match-winner in the last match. So far he has three goals to his name in five qualifying matches.
As for Denmark, Rasmus Hojlund has scored six goals and a hat trick against Finland in the reverse match for Denmark. After being named man of the match against Kazakhstan with two assists, Christian Eriksen will be the man to provide opportunities for his side.
Final Thoughts
Finland have been in impressive form lately, winning their last four matches without conceding a goal. Denmark, however, have struggled against strong defensive teams. If Finland can frustrate the Danes by limiting their chances, the game could turn around.
European Championship Qualification