[ad_1]
The national team did their duty in Helsinki, beating Finland 2-0, but at the same time England beat Ireland 5-0 at Wembley and took that first place. Bakasetas and Tzolis scored the two goals in five minutes for the blue and white team.
The National Team ended their Nations League campaign with a victory, as they beat Finland 2-0 in Helsinki thanks to goals from Bakaseta (52′) and Joli (56′), winning for the first time on Finnish soil (until today they had five defeats and three draws). However, his 15 points in the Nations League group stage were not enough as England beat Ireland 5-0 at Wembley to go top of the tie.
The first goal of the blue and white team came from the captain’s feet. Koulierakis with a wonderful vertical ball found Baca in the area, he made a powerful shot, beating Joronen.
In the 56th minute, the foundations were laid for the three points. Joronen came out of his area to catch Pavlidis, but his header found Tzolis. He made a low-hanging shot and sent the ball into the net, with the Finnish keeper neutralized.
In the first half, the National Team had the initiative of the movements and some opportunities to score, however the Finns coped quite well defensively. After 2-0 the pace of the game froze (in an already freezing Helsinki), with the home team trying unsuccessfully to find a goal. Among the highlights of the evening was Christos Mouzakitis who made his debut with the men’s national team.
The next match for the national team is in March 2025, when they will fight with one of the four thirds of League A of the Nations League to be promoted to the first division.
This is how the two coaches lined up the teams
Ivan Jovanovic made two changes in relation to the game against England, as he changed the duo in the midfielders. Kourbelis, who served his sentence with the three lions, returned to the original formation with Petros Mandalo on his side and Manolis Siopis staying on the bench.
On the other side, Markus Canerva changed the formation in relation to Ireland, as the Finns lined up with 5-3-2. In total, he made four changes, with goalkeeper Hratetski staying on the bench and Joronen defending the Finns’ goal. The other three changes were Picarainen, Hackens and Pojanpalo. The back of Asteras AKTOR, Nikolai Alho, played a key role as well as the former Panathinaikos player, Robin Lund.
He had the reins, he didn’t find the goal he was looking for
The first notable phase happened in the eighth minute. Masouras intercepted the ball and passed it to Joli, who avoided anyone in front of him and took the shot from the semi-circle, but the ball went wide after finding a Finnish defender. The corner was executed by Bakasetas with Mavropanos taking the header, but the ball went wide.
The hosts threatened for the first time in the 11th minute. Alho with a sweet cross from the right found Poianpalos, who with a nice header sent the ball just wide. The blue and white team became threatening again with Mavropanos’ header after a corner kick, but it too went wide.
The Greek internationals were the ones who kept the ball at their feet the most and tried to pressure the opposition boxes, however Finland were well organized in their defence. In the 30th minute it was Masoura’s turn to threaten with a shot just outside the area, but the ball went high.
In the 38th minute, Pavlidis maneuvered nicely into the Finns’ area, but Pikarainen countered him with the ball going beyond the legs of the Benfica forward. A minute later, Mandalos also had a final goal, but the shot he launched went wide without worrying Joronen. This was also the last good moment of the first part.
She cleared early in the second part, but she was not enough for the first place
What it did not achieve in the first part, the blue and white team found in the second part in its first major phase. Koulierakis with a nice vertical pass found Bakaseta unguarded in the area and the captain sent the ball into the net with a strong shot.
At the same time (around) however, England found a goal with Harry Kane’s penalty. The Greek internationals capitalized on the momentum in their favor and found a second goal with Joli after a poor clearance from Yoronen, who was off target from the Brugge striker’s shot.
The National team did not stop there, as they pressed for a third goal. In the 61st minute, Bakasetas found himself in a shooting position outside the area, but Joronen blocked the ball. The captain of the national team felt a discomfort in the shot he made, but continued in the match.
After 65′ the Finns turned up the heat and pressed to get something out of the match. Kalman was in a shooting position in the 72nd minute, as was Puki in the 80th minute, but the Greek defense reacted correctly and stopped any danger. In 85′, Adman made a shot from the height of the area, but the ball went just wide.
The last final for the blue and white was a shot by Jolie that went wide. In stoppage time Puki tried to anoint a scorer from the corner of the area, to no avail with 2-0 remaining until the end.
Finland: Joronen, Alho (81′ Niskanen), Hoskonen, Ivanov, Pikarainen (67′ Olila), Hakans (74′ Puki), Lund, Kamara (74′ Nisila), Kairinen, Kalman, Pojanpalo (67′ Adman).
Greece: Vlachodimos, Rota, Koulierakis, Mavropanos, Tsimikas, Mandalos (88′ Retsos), Kourbelis (90+1′ Mouzakitis), Bakasetas (74′ Pelkas), Masouras (74′ Siopis), Tzolis (88′ Giannoulis), Pavlidis.
The standings in the group of the National team in the Nations League
- 1st, direct promotion to League A
- 2nd, promotion playoffs to League A
- 3rd, League C relegation playouts
- 4th, direct relegation to League C
[ad_2]