World champion France suffered a surprise defeat at home to Finland in their last friendly match, losing 2-0 at Stade de France after goals from beginners
France dominated the early course of events and almost advanced through its new player Marcus Thuram, but a free header from a corner kick bounced off the crossbar
They will live to regret it because Finland scored twice in three minutes to take a 2-0 lead over the game. Marcus Fors of Brentford opened the scoring and shot Steve Mandanda’s goal near the post after Moussa Sissoko lost the ball in midfield and the visiting team launched a counterattack. A quick
Unni Valacari – like Force who debuted at age 21 – then elegantly added a second, cutting off his left foot and shooting into the top corner from 25 yards away
Finland qualified for their first-ever major tournament last year, and tonight’s events should give them a lot of confidence ahead of the postponed European Championship 2020. They created little notice after gaining the dual-target advantage, and it should be noted
There was a lot of hype and blowing in the second half from the French, but they couldn’t break the Finnish defense and discipline won from those in white shirts
Antoine Griezmann, Anthony Martial and N’Golo Kante were brought in as a triple substitute, but France was still unable to turn the possession into many clear opportunities, apart from a golden opportunity for Griezmann in stoppage time that he fired off target. And Finland maintained a victory over glaucoma for the first time in their history.
Finland picks up a big scalp ahead of a major tournament It will be easy to focus on France’s shortcomings – they have been weak and disappointing – but tonight they belong to Finland They were by no means at full strength, but the young team rose to the occasion and performed Clinically disciplined What will especially please manager Marco Kanerva are the scorers’ identities Forss and Valakari were both unafraid to debut, and at the age of 21 on the verge of improving the ability to add players like this to what was already one of the best teams in Finland might be a huge summer affair. Next and beyond it is also important to add more goalscorers to the team and reduce the dependence on Teemu Pukki, so it is hard to imagine how this could have been much better for the Finns to reach Euro 2020, if Finland wanted to achieve any success, it would likely need to play More matches where they have to absorb the pressure and deal with the opponent’s control of possession they did it brilliantly tonight, so there is another positive that Canerva has to take once in the back, it was amazing the lack of good chances that France created Despite the talent in their ranks, it wasn’t a coincidence – Finland deserved to win. It won’t be easy, but tonight is a clear example of how Finland made some noise in its European debut
Unni Valacari (Finland) seemed to love her at the stadium in France, and why not? Valacari made a good shift in defense, like the entire Finnish team, but while at the ball he made his presence felt his goal was brilliant – a great hit – and his left foot seemed like a real weapon. This would definitely not be his last international appearance, and Valacari could have played his way to Finland’s team at the European Championship 2020 tonight
15 ‘- away from the bar! Thuram wins an angle and then rises up to Digne’s head cross over the bar! It was a strong header – very close to the starter
28 “- Goal! France 0-1 Finland (Force) Wow, Finland leads out of nowhere! Sissoko loses possession, the visitors launch a counterattack, Force plays through it, grabs Lenglet and shoots Mandanda
31 “- Goal! France 0-2 Finland (Valacari) What a goal! The other new Finnish player moves the ball to his left foot, 25 yards away, and fires a shot that hits the top corner!
79 ‘- Miss! Martial stands in his watch and passes to Kante, 12 yards from the goal, but sends a long ball a great missed opportunity
90 3 ‘- Miss! Martial overtakes Griezmann, who deftly controls but then shoots away when it looks like a potential target
France: Mandanda 5, Dubois 7, Zouma 5, Lenglet 5, Digne 6, Sissoko 4, Pogba 5, Nzonzi 6, Thuram 6, Giroud 5, Ben Yedder 5 Submarines: Griezmann 5, Martial 6, Canti 6, Aguilar 6, Varane 5
Finland: Joronen 7, Vaisanen 7, Ojala 7, O’Shaughnessy 7, Niskanen 7, Valakari 8, Schuller 7, Kauko 6, Hamalainen 7, Karjalainen 6, Forss 8 Submarines: Toivio 7, Alho 6, Kamara 6, Taylor 6, Arajuuri 6, Pukki 6
French-Finnish soccer, France vs Finland, Marcus Thuram
News – FI – France 0-2 Finland: Finland stunned the 2018 World Cup winners thanks to two novice goals
Source: https://www.eurosport.com/football/international-friendlies/2020/france-v-finland-live-updates_sto7988693/story.shtml