Finland national football team
 | |||
| Nickname(s) |
Huuhkajat (The Eagle-owls)[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Football Association of Finland | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | Markku Kanerva | ||
| Captain | Tim Sparv | ||
| Most caps | Jari Litmanen (137) | ||
| Top scorer | Jari Litmanen (32) | ||
| Home stadium | Helsinki Olympic Stadium | ||
| FIFA code | FIN | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current |
62  1 (16 August 2018) | ||
| Highest | 33 (March 2007) | ||
| Lowest | 110 (July–August 2017) | ||
| Elo ranking | |||
| Current |
56 4 (24 July 2018) | ||
| Highest | 30[2] (March 2002) | ||
| Lowest | 125[2] (1962-3) | ||
| First international | |||
 Finland 2–5 Sweden  (Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire; 22 October 1911) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 Finland 10–2 Estonia  (Helsinki, Finland; 11 August 1922) Finland 8–0 San Marino  (Helsinki, Finland; 17 November 2010) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Germany 13–0 Finland (Leipzig, Germany; 1 September 1940) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 0 | ||
| European Championship | |||
| Appearances | 0 | ||
The Finland national football team (Finnish: Suomen jalkapallomaajoukkue, Swedish: Finlands fotbollslandslag) represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland.
Although the Finnish national team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships in spite of its long history, the Nordic nation made remarkable progression in the 2000s, reaching a peak of 30th on the Elo Rankings. Under coach Roy Hodgson they achieved notable results against much more established European teams. After a few years of poor results, they dipped to a FIFA ranking of 110, the lowest in their history. However, in the autumn of 2017, Finland began to rise up the FIFA rankings and, as of May 2018, they sit at 62nd.
Finland has also participated on two occasions in the European sub-regional Baltic Cup championship, which takes place every two years between the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Finland's best result in the Baltic Cup tournament was in 2012 when they finished as runners-up. In 2014 Finland finished the tournament in third place.
Contents
History[edit]
Early history[edit]
The Football Association of Finland was founded in 1907 and became a member of FIFA in 1908. At the time, Finland was an autonomous grand duchy of the Russian Empire. 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[edit]
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.[3] Both sides had their own championship series, and between 1919–1939 the Finland national team was selected of the Football Association players only. The Finnish Workers' Sports Federation football team in turn, participated the competitions of the international labour movement.[4]
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.[4] 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 to the national team and finally in 1956, the TUL and Football Association series were merged.[4]
Post-war years[edit]
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.[5]
Finland also took part in European Championship qualifying since the 1968 event, but had to wait for its first win until 1978.
Later 20th century[edit]
The results of the team improved somewhat in the late 1970s and the 1980s. 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 the Ajax superstar Jari Litmanen. In 1996 Danish 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, 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 once again the dreams of qualification were 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.
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–30th in the Elo ranking[2]). 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 Roy Hodgson would become the new Finland coach in 2006, and he started in the job in January of that year. Hodgson stepped down as manager after they failed to qualify for Euro 2008.[6] His replacement was a Scotsman, Stuart Baxter, who signed a contract until the end of the 2012 European Championship qualification campaign.[7]
Recent history[edit]
During Euro 2008 qualifying, Finland was at the point of their "golden generation", with a team consisting of players such as Jari Litmanen, Sami Hyypiä, Mikael Forssell, Hannu Tihinen, Petri Pasanen, Joonas Kolkka, Mika Väyrynen and Teemu Tainio. Finland needed to win their last qualifying game away at 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 the position of 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 equalisers. 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.
Stadia[edit]
Most of Finland's important 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 Ratina Stadion in Tampere. Helsinki's Telia 5G -areena, which has artificial turf, is also used for some friendlies and qualifiers. During reconstruction of Helsinki Olympic Stadium in 2016–19 Ratina Stadion serves as the main stadium for qualifying games.
Competitive record[edit]
World Cup record[edit]
| FIFA World Cup record | FIFA World Cup qualification record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
 1930
|
Did not enter | Did not enter | ||||||||||||||
 1934
| ||||||||||||||||
 1938
|
Did not qualify | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | |||||||||
 1950
|
Withdrew during qualifying | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 12 | |||||||||
 1954
|
Did not qualify | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 13 | |||||||||
| 1958
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 19 | ||||||||||
 1962
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 12 | ||||||||||
 1966
|
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 20 | ||||||||||
 1970
|
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 28 | ||||||||||
 1974
|
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 21 | ||||||||||
 1978
|
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 16 | ||||||||||
 1982
|
8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 27 | ||||||||||
| 1986
|
8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 12 | ||||||||||
 1990
|
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 16 | ||||||||||
 1994
|
10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 18 | ||||||||||
 1998
|
8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 12 | ||||||||||
  2002
|
8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 7 | ||||||||||
| 2006
|
12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 21 | 19 | ||||||||||
 2010
|
10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 14 | ||||||||||
 2014
|
8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 9 | ||||||||||
 2018
|
10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 13 | ||||||||||
 2022
|
To be determined | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
 2026
| ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 0/21 | 123 | 30 | 20 | 73 | 128 | 280 | |||||||||
European Championship record[edit]
| UEFA European Championship record | UEFA European Championship qualifying record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
| 1960
|
Did not enter | Did not enter | ||||||||||||||
 1964
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1968
|
Did not qualify | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 12 | |||||||||
 1972
|
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 16 | ||||||||||
 1976
|
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 13 | ||||||||||
| 1980
|
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 15 | ||||||||||
| 1984
|
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 14 | ||||||||||
| 1988
|
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 10 | ||||||||||
| 1992
|
8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 8 | ||||||||||
| 1996
|
10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 18 | ||||||||||
 2000
|
8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 13 | ||||||||||
 2004
|
8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 10 | ||||||||||
 2008
|
14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 7 | ||||||||||
  2012
|
10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 16 | ||||||||||
| 2016
|
10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 10 | ||||||||||
 2020
|
To be determined | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 0/15 | 104 | 27 | 24 | 53 | 109 | 162 | |||||||||
UEFA Nations League[edit]
| UEFA Nations League record | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Division | Group | Round | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| 2018–19 | C | 2 | To be determined | ||||||||
| Total | — | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
Summer Olympics[edit]
| Olympics record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
| 1912 |
Fourth Place | 4th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 16 |
| 1936 |
Round of 16 | 14th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 1952 |
Round of 16 | 9th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
 1980 |
Group stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Total | 4/23 | 0 Titles | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 29 |
Nordic Football Championship[edit]
| Nordic Football Championship record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D * | L | GF | GA |
| 1929–32 | Fourth place | 4th | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 23 | 52 |
| 1933–36 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 18 | 36 | ||
| 1937–47 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 51 | ||
| 1948–51 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 28 | ||
| 1952–55 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 13 | 53 | ||
| 1956–59 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 44 | ||
| 1960–63 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 37 | ||
| 1964–67 | Third place | 3rd | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 17 |
| 1968–71 | Fourth place | 4th | 12 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 31 |
| 1972–77 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 26 | ||
| 1978–80 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 26 | ||
| 1981–85 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | ||
| 2000–01 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
| Total | 1 Title | 13/14 | 137 | 21 | 24 | 92 | 150 | 401 |
- *Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won.
Baltic Cup[edit]
| Baltic Cup (football) Record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA | |
| 2012 | Runners-up | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Third place | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total | 2/27 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | |
All–time record against all nations[edit]
This list is Finland national team complete records, both friendlies and competitive matches.[8]
 | This article needs to be updated. (January 2018) |
| Against | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD | % Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Albania
|
7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 57.14 |
 Algeria
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0.00 |
 Andorra
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 50.00 |
 Armenia
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 75.00 |
| Austria
|
11 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 24 | −13 | 9.09 |
 Azerbaijan
|
8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 87.50 |
 Bahrain
|
5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 80.00 |
 Barbados
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0.00 |
 Belarus
|
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 25.00 |
| Belgium
|
11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 20 | −1 | 36.36 |
 Bermuda
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 100.00 |
 Bolivia
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 0.00 |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0.00 |
| Brazil
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 0.00 |
 Bulgaria
|
8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 19 | −16 | 0.00 |
| Canada
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Chile
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0.00 |
 China PR
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 100.00 |
 Colombia
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0.00 |
 Costa Rica
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0.00 |
 Croatia
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0.00 |
 Cyprus
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 50.00 |
 Czech Republic
|
11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 27.27 |
 Denmark
|
59 | 11 | 10 | 38 | 60 | 151 | −91 | 18.64 |
 East Germany
|
7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 21 | −13 | 28.57 |
 Ecuador
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0.00 |
 Egypt
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0.00 |
| England
|
13 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 44 | −37 | 0.00 |
| Estonia
|
32 | 15 | 10 | 7 | 74 | 40 | +34 | 46.88 |
 Faroe Islands
|
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | +14 | 100.00 |
| France
|
8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 18 | −15 | 0.00 |
 Georgia
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 50.00 |
| Germany
|
23 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 19 | 82 | −63 | 4.35 |
 Greece
|
14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 25 | −7 | 28.57 |
 Honduras
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 100.00 |
 Hungary
|
17 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 48 | −33 | 17.65 |
 Iceland
|
13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 14 | +6 | 53.85 |
 India
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 50.00 |
 Indonesia
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0.00 |
 Iraq
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 100.00 |
 Ireland
|
5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 0.00 |
 Israel
|
5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | +0 | 40.00 |
| Italy
|
13 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 32 | −25 | 7.69 |
| Japan
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 100.00 |
 Jordan
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 100.00 |
 Kazakhstan
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 66.67 |
 Kosovo
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 50.00 |
 Kuwait
|
7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 42.86 |
 Latvia
|
17 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 32 | 18 | +14 | 58.82 |
 Liechtenstein
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 33.33 |
 Lithuania
|
5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 60.00 |
 Luxembourg
|
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 80.00 |
 Macedonia
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 75.00 |
 Malaysia
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0.00 |
 Malta
|
7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 57.14 |
| Mexico
|
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0.00 |
 Moldova
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 50.00 |
 Morocco
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 50.00 |
| Netherlands
|
14 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 14 | 43 | −29 | 7.14 |
 North Korea
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 100.00 |
 Northern Ireland
|
9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 33.33 |
 Norway
|
66 | 9 | 16 | 41 | 81 | 181 | −100 | 13.64 |
 Oman
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 50.00 |
 Peru
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 0.00 |
| Poland
|
29 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 25 | 67 | −42 | 10.34 |
| Portugal
|
10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 14 | −8 | 10.00 |
| Qatar
|
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 25.00 |
 Romania
|
11 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 27 | −22 | 0.00 |
| Russia
|
20 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 13 | 66 | −53 | 5.00 |
 San Marino
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | +15 | 100.00 |
 Saudi Arabia
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 50.00 |
 Scotland
|
8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 18 | −13 | 0.00 |
 Serbia
|
9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 30 | −20 | 22.22 |
 Slovakia
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0.00 |
 Slovenia
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 50.00 |
 South Korea
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 100.00 |
| Spain
|
8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 16 | −11 | 12.50 |
| Sweden
|
88 | 11 | 11 | 66 | 96 | 292 | −196 | 12.50 |
| Switzerland
|
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 40.00 |
 Thailand
|
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 100.00 |
 Trinidad and Tobago
|
5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 60.00 |
 Tunisia
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 66.67 |
 Turkey
|
15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 24 | −2 | 40.00 |
 United Arab Emirates
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 0.00 |
| Ukraine
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0.00 |
| United States
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0.00 |
| Uruguay
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0.00 |
 Wales
|
12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 17 | −5 | 33.33 |
 Yemen
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0.00 |
Recent fixtures and results[edit]
| 7 June 2017 | Finland
|
1–1 | Liechtenstein
|
Veritas Stadion, Turku |
|---|---|---|---|---|
M. Hetemaj  18'
|
Hasler 62'
|
Attendance: 5,460 Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (Sweden) |
| 11 January 2018 | Jordan
|
1–2 | Finland
|
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mardi 82'
|
Report | Toivio 35' Pelvas 60'
|
| 23 March 2018 | Finland
|
0–0 | Macedonia
|
Gloria Sports Arena, Belek |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Mete Kalkavan (Turkey) |
| 26 March 2018 | Finland
|
5–0 | Malta
|
Gloria Sports Arena, Belek |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pukki 13', 27' Taimi 23' Jensen 84' Soiri 88'
|
Report | Attendance: 200 Referee: Hüseyin Göçek (Turkey) |
| 5 June 2018 | Romania
|
2–0 | Finland
|
Stadionul Ilie Oană, Ploiești[9] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manea 37' Deac 61'
|
Report | Attendance: 13,312 Referee: Robert Harvey (Republic of Ireland) |
| 9 June 2018 | Finland
|
2–0 | Belarus
|
Tampere Stadium, Tampere[10][11] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uronen 7' Yaghoubi 75'
|
Report | Attendance: 4,520 Referee: Alain Durieux (Luxembourg) |
Current squad[edit]
The following players have been called up for the UEFA Nations League matches against Hungary on 8 September 2018 and Estonia on 11 September 2018.[12][13]
Caps and goals as of 9 June 2018 after the game against Belarus.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Lukáš Hrádecký | 24 November 1989 | 44 | 0 | Bayer Leverkusen
| |
| GK | Jesse Joronen | 21 March 1993 | 5 | 0 | Copenhagen
| |
| GK | Anssi Jaakkola | 13 March 1987 | 3 | 0 | Reading
| |
| DF | Joona Toivio | 10 March 1988 | 47 | 3 | Häcken
| |
| DF | Jukka Raitala | 15 September 1988 | 40 | 0 | Montreal Impact
| |
| DF | Markus Halsti | 19 March 1984 | 34 | 0 | Esbjerg
| |
| DF | Paulus Arajuuri | 15 June 1988 | 28 | 2 | Brøndby
| |
| DF | Jere Uronen | 13 July 1994 | 28 | 1 | Racing Genk
| |
| DF | Sauli Väisänen | 5 June 1994 | 11 | 0 | Crotone
| |
| DF | Albin Granlund | 1 September 1989 | 7 | 0 | Örebro
| |
| DF | Henri Toivomäki | 21 February 1991 | 1 | 0 | KuPS
| |
| MF | Tim Sparv | 20 February 1987 | 61 | 1 | Midtjylland
| |
| MF | Rasmus Schüller | 18 June 1991 | 27 | 0 | Minnesota United
| |
| MF | Robin Lod | 17 April 1993 | 22 | 3 | Sporting Gijón
| |
| MF | Pyry Soiri | 22 September 1994 | 8 | 3 | Admira Wacker
| |
| MF | Joni Kauko | 12 July 1990 | 8 | 0 | Esbjerg
| |
| MF | Simon Skrabb | 19 January 1995 | 7 | 0 | IFK Norrköping
| |
| MF | Glen Kamara | 28 October 1995 | 5 | 0 | Dundee
| |
| MF | Robert Taylor | 21 October 1994 | 4 | 0 | Tromsø
| |
| FW | Teemu Pukki | 29 March 1990 | 63 | 12 | Norwich
| |
| FW | Eero Markkanen | 3 July 1991 | 12 | 0 | Dalkurd
| |
| FW | Jasse Tuominen | 12 November 1995 | 4 | 0 | BATE Borisov
| |
| FW | Rasmus Karjalainen | 4 April 1996 | 2 | 0 | KuPS
| |
Recent call-ups[edit]
The following players have been called up for the team in the last twelve months. Only players available for call-up, not retired players.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Walter Viitala | 9 January 1992 | 1 | 0 | Malmö
|
v. Belarus, 9 June 2018
|
| GK | Hugo Keto | 9 February 1998 | 0 | 0 | Brighton & Hove Albion
|
v. Jordan, 11 January 2018
|
| DF | Juha Pirinen | 22 October 1991 | 10 | 0 | HJK
|
v. Belarus, 9 June 2018
|
| DF | Juhani Ojala | 19 June 1989 | 23 | 1 | Häcken
|
v. Malta, 26 March 2018
|
| DF | Kalle Taimi | 27 January 1992 | 2 | 1 | Lahti
|
v. Malta, 26 March 2018
|
| DF | Daniel O'Shaughnessy | 14 September 1994 | 2 | 0 | HJK
|
v. Jordan, 11 January 2018
|
| DF | Juho Pirttijoki | 30 July 1996 | 1 | 0 | KuPS
|
v. Jordan, 11 January 2018
|
| DF | Joel Mero | 7 February 1995 | 0 | 0 | SJK
|
v. Jordan, 11 January 2018
|
| DF | Dani Hatakka | 12 March 1994 | 0 | 0 | SJK
|
v. Turkey, 9 October 2017
|
| DF | Valtteri Moren | 15 June 1991 | 4 | 1 | Waasland-Beveren
|
v. Kosovo, 5 September 2017 INJ
|
| MF | Thomas Lam | 18 December 1993 | 18 | 0 | PEC Zwolle
|
v. Belarus, 9 June 2018
|
| MF | Moshtagh Yaghoubi | 8 November 1994 | 6 | 1 | HJK
|
v. Belarus, 9 June 2018
|
| MF | Alexander Ring | 9 April 1991 | 43 | 2 | New York City
|
v. Malta, 26 March 2018
|
| MF | Fredrik Jensen | 9 September 1997 | 6 | 2 | Augsburg
|
v. Malta, 26 March 2018
|
| MF | Kasper Hämäläinen | 8 August 1986 | 60 | 8 | Legia Warsaw
|
v. Malta, 26 March 2018 INJ
|
| MF | Riku Riski | 16 August 1989 | 27 | 4 | HJK
|
v. Jordan, 11 January 2018
|
| MF | Kaan Kairinen | 22 December 1998 | 0 | 0 | Inter Turku
|
v. Jordan, 11 January 2018
|
| FW | Berat Sadik | 14 September 1986 | 13 | 1 | Unattached | v. Belarus, 9 June 2018
|
| FW | Tim Väyrynen | 29 March 1993 | 10 | 0 | Hansa Rostock
|
v. Belarus, 9 June 2018
|
| FW | Joel Pohjanpalo | 13 September 1994 | 29 | 6 | Bayer Leverkusen
|
v. Malta, 26 March 2018
|
| FW | Akseli Pelvas | 8 February 1989 | 7 | 1 | HJK
|
v. Malta, 26 March 2018
|
| FW | Benjamin Källman | 17 June 1998 | 1 | 0 | Dundee
|
v. Jordan, 11 January 2018
|
| FW | Santeri Hostikka | 30 September 1997 | 0 | 0 | Lahti
|
v. Jordan, 11 January 2018
|
| FW | Aleksandr Kokko | 4 June 1987 | 1 | 0 | RoPS
|
v. Turkey, 9 October 2017 PRE
|
- INJ = Withdrew due to an injury.
- * = Roman Eremenko is suspended from competitive football until December 2018.
Coaching staff[edit]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Markku Kanerva
|
| Assistant coach | Mika Nurmela
|
| Assistant coach | Kari Martonen
|
| Goalkeeping coach | Antti Niemi
|
Player records[edit]
Most capped players[edit]
| Rank | Name | Career | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jari Litmanen | 1989–2010 | 137 | 32 |
| 2 | Sami Hyypiä | 1992–2010 | 105 | 5 |
| Jonatan Johansson | 1996–2010 | 105 | 22 | |
| 4 | Ari Hjelm | 1983–1996 | 100 | 20 |
| 5 | Joonas Kolkka | 1994–2010 | 98 | 11 |
| 6 | Mikael Forssell | 1999–2014 | 87 | 29 |
| 7 | Erkka Petäjä | 1983–1994 | 84 | 0 |
| 8 | Arto Tolsa | 1964–1981 | 77 | 10 |
| 9 | Hannu Tihinen | 1997–2010 | 76 | 5 |
| Petri Pasanen | 2000–2013 | 76 | 1 | |
| 10 | Toni Kuivasto | 1997–2009 | 75 | 1 |
Top goalscorers[edit]
| Rank | Name | Career | Goals | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jari Litmanen | 1989–2010 | 32 | 137 |
| 2 | Mikael Forssell | 1999–2014 | 29 | 87 |
| 3 | Jonatan Johansson | 1996–2010 | 22 | 105 |
| 4 | Ari Hjelm | 1983–1996 | 20 | 100 |
| 5 | Mika-Matti Paatelainen | 1986–2000 | 18 | 70 |
| 6 | Verner Eklöf | 1919–1927 | 17 | 32 |
| 7 | Aulis Koponen | 1924–1935 | 16 | 39 |
| Gunnar Åström | 1923–1937 | 16 | 44 | |
| 9 | Alexei Eremenko | 2003–2013 | 14 | 57 |
| 10 | Jorma Vaihela | 1947–1954 | 13 | 33 |
| William Kanerva | 1922–1938 | 13 | 51 | |
| Kai Pahlman | 1954–1968 | 13 | 56 |
- Correct as of March 24, 2017
- Players who are still active and available for selection are in bold
Managers[edit]
Last updated: 13 Oct 2015.
- Sortable table available in Finnish Wikipedia: Finland national football team.
| Tenure | Nat | Coach | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||||
| 1911–21 | None | 17 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 35.29 | ||||
| 1922 |
|
Jarl Öhman | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 25.00 | |||
| 1923–35 | None | 77 | 22 | 12 | 43 | 28.57 | ||||
| 1936–37 |
|
Ferdinand Fabra | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 12.50 | |||
| 1937–38 | None | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 33.33 | ||||
| 1939 | 
|
Gábor Obitz | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 16.67 | |||
| 1939–43 | None | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0.00 | ||||
| 1945 |
|
Axel Mårtensson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 | |||
| 1946 |
|
Niilo Tammisalo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.00 | |||
| 1947–55 |
|
Aatos Lehtonen | 51 | 7 | 9 | 35 | 13.73 | |||
| 1955–58 |
|
Kurt Weinreich | 23 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 13.04 | |||
| 1959–61 |
|
Aatos Lehtonen | 19 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 15.79 | |||
| 1962–74 |
|
Olavi Laaksonen | 91 | 16 | 21 | 54 | 17.58 | |||
| 1975 |
|
Martti Kosma | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | |||
| 1975–78 |
|
Aulis Rytkönen | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 26.67 | |||
| 1979–81 |
|
Esko Malm | 27 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 14.81 | |||
| 1982–87 |
|
Martti Kuusela | 53 | 9 | 11 | 33 | 16.98 | |||
| 1988–92 |
|
Jukka Vakkila | 48 | 7 | 21 | 20 | 14.58 | |||
| 1993–94 |
|
Tommy Lindholm | 25 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 20.00 | |||
| 1994–96 |
|
Jukka Ikäläinen | 21 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 33.33 | |||
| 1996–99 |
|
Richard Møller Nielsen | 34 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 26.47 | |||
| 2000–05 |
|
Antti Muurinen | 72 | 34 | 12 | 26 | 47.22 | |||
| 2005 |
|
Jyrki Heliskoski (caretaker) | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 33.33 | |||
| 2006–07 |
|
Roy Hodgson | 22 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 27.27 | |||
| 2008–10 |
|
Stuart Baxter | 31 | 8 | 6 | 17 | 25.81 | |||
| 2010 |
|
Olli Huttunen (caretaker) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | |||
| 2011 |
|
Markku Kanerva (caretaker) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | |||
| 2011–2015 |
|
Mixu Paatelainen | 43 | 17 | 11 | 15 | 39.53 | |||
| 2015 |
|
Markku Kanerva (caretaker) | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 60.00 | |||
| 2016 |
|
Hans Backe | 11 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0.00 | |||
| 2016– |
|
Markku Kanerva | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Total | 749 | 182 | 160 | 407 | 24.30 | |||||
Honours[edit]
- 1912 Summer Olympics
- Fourth place: 1912
Minor tournaments[edit]
- Baltic Cup
- Nordic Football Championship
- King's Cup
- Lahti Cup
- Winners: 1981
Kits and crest[edit]
Finland's kit are currently supplied by American brand Nike, Inc. They replaced German company Adidas who supplied Finland's kits between 1979 and 2014.
Kit sponsorship[edit]
| Kit supplier | Period |
|---|---|
| Adidas
|
1979–2014 |
| Nike
|
2014- |
See also[edit]
- Finland national under-21 football team
- Finland national under-19 football team
- Finland national under-17 football team
- Finland women's national football team
- Football in Finland
- Åland Islands national football team
- Sápmi national football team
References[edit]
- ^ Palkittu Bubi käväisi yllättäen palkitsemistilaisuudessa HS.fi – Kaupunki
- ^ a b c "World Football Elo Ratings: Finland". World Football Elo Ratings. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ rsssf Nordic championship 1964–66.
- ^ Hodgson to return for Inter role BBC Sport, 1 December 2007
- ^ Suomen Palloliitto – Etusivu Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine. (in Finnish)
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
- ^ Huuhkajat Romanian vieraaksi kesäkuun alussa
- ^ Huuhkajat isännöi Valko-Venäjää kesäkuussa
- ^ Huuhkajat Romanian vieraaksi kesäkuun alussa
- ^ Huuhkajat nimetty Nations Leaguen avausotteluihin
- ^ Huuhkajia täydennetty kahdella pelaajalla
- ^ Markku Kanerva A-maajoukkueen päävalmentajaksi
- ^ Kari Martonen Huuhkajien valmennusryhmään
- ^ Huuhkajat Islantia ja Kosovoa vastaan
External links[edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Finland national football team. |
- Official website (in Finnish)
- RSSSF archive of results 1911–
- RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
- RSSSF archive of coaches
- The Finnish National Team Supporters' Association
- Reports for all official matches
| National teams | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League system |
| ||||
| District Associations | |||||
| Domestic cups | |||||