Portugal 0 Finland 0 - the Finns hold on, but the dream of qualification is over

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By William Moore
     
      Finland will not be represented at the Euro 2008 finals in Switzerland and Austria.
      A goalless draw in Porto against Portugal was not enough to secure Finland’s progress, as only an away victory would have sufficed.
      As it happens, victory WOULD have sufficed, since Poland held Serbia to a 2-2 draw in Belgrade and ruined the Serbs’ chances of coming up on the outside to steal a ticket to the finals at the death.
     
Portugal dominated the match, much as expected, although they were playing with a side depleted by injuries, but they could not find any way past the Finnish defence, which has been the stingiest of any in Group A.
      Finland have conceded only seven goals in their fourteen games.
      The other side of the coin is an inability to put the ball in the opposition’s net: Finland have scored only 13 times, as opposed to the 24 goals each by qualifiers Portugal and Poland.
      This has been in part a product of lengthy injuries to striker Mikael Forssell and playmaker-captain Jari Litmanen, both of whom were present on Wednesday, though neither is really fully match-fit. Two other key long-term absentees were Teemu Tainio and Mika Väyrynen.
      When the sickbay numbers are totted up, this quartet up front and in midfield missed a total of twenty games between them - and this is bound to hurt, however solid the defensive package may be.
     
At least one goal was needed by the Finns on Wednesday, but while Forssell worked hard with the little good ball he received, he got no change out of the Portuguese defenders, and the hosts’ debutant Pepe had an outstanding game and looks an excellent prospect.
      All too often the Finnish defence was good enough to close down the fast-moving and talented Portuguese forwards, by fair means or foul, but unable to build through the midfield and feed the strikers decent ball on the ground, or progress with determination up the flanks.
      Equally, too many stray passes in midfield meant there was no scope to take the pace off the game and get a bit of breathing space to move men forward in numbers.
      The upshot was that wave after wave of attacks by the hosts rained down on the central defenders, and goalkeeper Jussi Jääskeläinen was forced to turn in a performance that showed his selection as Finnish Footballer of the Year for 2007 was right on the nose.
     
There is little point in dwelling on the details of the match - Finland could have camped out for 90 minutes in the Portuguese penalty area and forced two dozen corners and hit the post eight times, but without putting a goal on the board, they were not going to qualify.
      As it was, they followed exactly the plan coach Roy Hodgson had had in mind, of soaking up pressure for 80 minutes or so and keeping things goalless, hoping to steal one on the break or from a set-piece.
      In fairness to Portugal, such a result would probably have been an injustice, but then again, who said life was always fair?
     
The nearest the visitors came to pulling off a spectactular smash & grab exercise was when a Portuguese defender Bruno Alves sliced the ball tantalisingly close to his own goal with around five minutes left on the clock.
      Portugal kept threatening to score, but the Finnish defenders hung on to clock up their eighth clean sheet of the campaign.
      Sadly, it was not enough.
     
So, great disappointment all round, as many still held dreams that the Finns could qualify for their first-ever major tournament, something that Hodgson himself admitted would have been "sensational".
      On the other hand, there is much to feel good about.
      In the last World Cup qualifiers, the Finns were given a severe thrashing by the “big” teams in their group (Holland, the Czech Republic, and Romania), losing all six matches home and away and ending up with a goal difference of 5-17.
      This time the Finns were unbeaten away from home against Portugal, Serbia, Poland, and Belgium, and took four points off Belgium and group winners Poland and two off the previous World Cup semifinalists Portugal. Only against Serbia (0-2 at home and 0-0 away) did the Finns come off second best against their "betters".
      But the group had eight teams, and failure to dispose of Armenia and Azerbaijan away from home cost the Finnish team dear, as did the lack of goals mentioned earlier.
     
Where we go from here is anyone’s guess, but there have been rumours that coach Roy Hodgson is being eyed up by Ireland as their next manager, and there must be doubts about the will to continue of stalwarts Sami Hyypiä and Jari Litmanen.
      Litmanen has done sterling service for his country, and it would be perfectly understandable if he decides to call it a day after 110 appearances in a Finnish shirt.
      Hyypiä was persuaded back on board for Euro 2008, but it is unclear whether he will continue for another campaign: much may depend on what Hodgson’s plans are, as the coach seems to be extremely well-liked by his players.
     
Hodgson returned the compliment, saying he was immensely proud of his men, and he even expressed a measure of surprise that the players had been so downcast in the dressing-room after turning in such a tactically mature performance in Porto, and after coming through a very tough group with only two defeats and with a live shot at qualifying right down to the wire.
     
Those who may query the term "tough group" should remember that it is not always about having to meet the Italys and Germanys of this world (though Finland have had that sort of group before, too), but also a matter of geography: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and particularly Kazakhstan are only "European" opponents by a large stretch of the imagination.
      The distance, for example, from Lisbon to Astana in Kazakhstan is more than 6,000 kilometres, or rather greater than from Lisbon to New York.
      And these emerging former Soviet republics are no pushovers on home soil, as Finland found to its cost. The Finns were not alone, either - Armenia humbled group winners Poland in Yerevan and drew at home with all three of the other teams in the top four, and Kazakhstan proved too good for Serbia on their first meeting.
     
On a night of disappointment and doubt about the future, there was some good some news, however: the Finnish Under-21 side notched up their fifth straight win in their own European Championships qualifying group, beating Lithuania 2-1 at home.
      Goals from Perparim Hetemaj and Jarno Parikka did the job, and the Finns - with fifteen points from five starts - are two points clear of Denmark, who have played a game more.
      The Finns beat Denmark 1-0 away in their opening encounter, and although there is still a long way to go, on current form the youngsters are looking like a good bet to qualify for the play-offs next October.
      At that point the ten group winners and four best second-placed teams will play for seven places in the final, along with hosts Sweden. These finals will be in June 2009.
      Hopefully, some of the obvious talent in the juniors can be gradually introduced to life in the top flight over the next couple of years.
     
For the seniors, the next campaign will be qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with the draw held in South Africa on Sunday.
      Finland fans will be hoping Kazakhstan can do them a final favour on Saturday, as it would probably be better for Finland’s seeding position in the draw if they finish higher than Serbia in the Euro 2008 qualifying group.
      At present, the Finns are in third place in Group A behind Poland and Portugal, but a win for Serbia would hoist them into third spot.
     
     
Finland: Jussi Jääskeläinen; Petri Pasanen (booked, 88.), Hannu Tihinen, Sami Hyypiä (booked, 47.), Toni Kallio; Teemu Tainio (69. Roman Eremenko), Markus Heikkinen; Joonas Kolkka (75. Jonatan Johansson), Jari Litmanen (captain, 67. Mika Väyrynen), Daniel Sjölund (booked, 39.); Mikael Forssell (booked, 62.)
     
Coach: Roy Hodgson
     
Referee: Luboš Michel (Slovakia)
     
Attendance: c. 50,000 (capacity is 52,000 - some 800 Finnish fans travelled for the game)
     
Weather conditions: Rain, heavy at times, around 10°C


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Roy Hodgson being tipped as possible new Ireland coach (21.11.2007)
  Finland 2 Azerbaijan 1 - Onwards to Porto, fingers crossed (17.11.2007)

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