Finland – National Team EURO 2021 – All Important Information

June 14, 2021

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Finland - Euro 2021 - Lineup. Learn about form of the Finland team, lineup, stats and much more.

Finland – National Team EURO 2021 – All Important Information

It’s clear that the Finland National Team will give their best at the upcoming EURO 2021 tournament, since it will be their first major tournament so far. Participating in this year’s championship is, perhaps, the biggest success of the team since the early 60’s.

The Finns have managed to finish in second place in Group J only to Italy National Team 4 points and 5 points clear of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Greece. The famous Eagle-owls are definitely ready to make the best out of their tournament debut with the talented squad.

Although Finland are considered to be minnows at this point and are far from favorites to win the European Championship title this year, their fans are hoping for them to upset the odds once again. The optimism is present among both players and fans. Will their hopes come true?

Let’s see what we can expect from the Finland National Team at their first major tournament. Get to know all the important information about its manager, key player, possible lineup, full squad, tactics, and the schedule of their upcoming matches!

Football Manager of the Finland National Team

Markku Kanerva is the official football manager of the Finland National Team and a former player and elementary school teacher. For the Finnish top league, Kanerva played a total of 291 matches and scored 29 goals. He ended his football career in 1998.

He was Finland U21 football manager for 5 years, until 2011, when he took over the senior team as an assistant. In December 2016, Kanerva was appointed permanently as the official manager of the Finland National Team.

In the early years of his coaching career, when he was managing the U21 team, Markku succeeded in guiding the young team to their first and only European Championship so far in 2009.

Kanerva is the man who gets all the credit for successful management of the Finland senior team, and their participation at the European Championship for the first time ever. He also earned the promotion to Uefa Nations League Group B in 2019.

Thanks to all his achievements so far, it’s no wonder why Markku Kanerva is highly regarded and respected in Finland.

Finland Possible Lineup for the European Championship

Markku will probably go for the proven variant that will bring him the most success in his opinion. Lukas Hradecky (Leverkusen) will be on the goal, heavily protected by Joona Toivio (Häcken) defender and the midfielder Glen Kamara (Rangers) who will be lining up alongside Tim Sparv (Larissa) as a double 6’s.

The defenders Jere Uronen (Genk) and Jukka Raitala (Minnesota United) will have a lot of freedom to help the forwards in the attack.

Besides them, we can expect to see Paulus Arajuuri (Pafos), Robin Lod (Minnesota United), Robert Taylor (Brann), Joel Pohjanpalo (Union Berlin). All eyes will be on the forward,Teemu Pukki (Norwich) who is expected to score the most goals for his team.

The Key Player of the Finland National Team

They say that Teemu Pukki is the jewel and the biggest star of the Finland National Team at the moment. This incredibly talented striker of the Norwich City FC and the National Team has managed to score 10 goals in 10 matches during the Fin;and UEFA Euro 2020 qualifications, which was crucial for Finland to reach this major international tournament for the first time ever.

With Norwich, he made a huge success hitting 26 goals which helped the Canaries get back to the Premier League. He is definitely the key player of the Finland National Team and we expect him to lead his squad as he knows the best.

The Full Squad of the Finland National Team

Goalkeepers: Jesse Joronen (Brescia), Anssi Jaakkola (Bristol Rovers), Lukas Hradecky (Leverkusen),

Defenders: Jukka Raitala (Minnesota United), Sauli Väisänen (Chievo), Joona Toivio (Häcken), Paulus Arajuuri (Pafos), Robert Ivanov (Warta Poznań), Nicholas Hämäläinen (QPR), Thomas Lam (Zwolle), Daniel O’Shaughnessy (HJK Helsinki), Jere Uronen (Genk)

Midfielders: Fredrik Jensen (Augsburg), Pyry Soiri (Esbjerg), Nikolai Alho (MTK Budapest), Robert Taylor (Brann), Glen Kamara (Rangers), Rasmus Schüller (Djurgården), Joni Kauko (Esbjerg), Robin Lod (Minnesota United), Tim Sparv (Larissa), Onni Valakari (Pafos)

Forwards: Teemu Pukki (Norwich), Lassi Lappalainen (Montréal), Marcus Forss (Brentford) Joel Pohjanpalo (Union Berlin)

Tactics & Form of the Finland National Team for the EURO 2021

Despite the fact that the football manager Kanerva has used the 5-3-2 tactics most often in the past matches, the tactics that brought his team the most success during the qualifications was the 4-4-2 system. So, we suppose that Markku will choose this system for the upcoming matches of the championship.

When it comes to the form of the Finland National Team, during the qualification campaign, they’ve managed to win 6 of their 10 matches in Group J. They scored 7 goals, of which Pukki scored 4. Recently during the 2022 World Cup qualification Finland beat world champions France, Bulgaria (two times), and Ireland. They have conceded just one goal along the way.

According to their recent success and the fact that they’ve succeeded in qualifying for the European Championship for the first time, their form couldn’t be better.