Finland 2020 UEFA Euro Betting
For the first time ever, Finland will be involved in a major international football competition. The Finns will make their debut appearance on a major stage as this is the first time the national team has qualified for either the European Championship or the World Cup. As you would expect, Finland is the biggest longshot in Group B by a mile because of this fact, and the Finns have some of the longest odds in the entire tournament. They are hoping to surprise everyone like we saw with Iceland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 2016.
Finland Squad Profile
UEFA Euro Odds: +50000
Coach: Markku Kanerva
FIFA Ranking: 55
Best Finish: First appearance
Group: B ( Denmark, Belgium and Russia )
How They Got Here
Finland was drawn into Group J in qualifying. Italy was the overwhelming favorite to win the group, and the Azzurri had no problem doing just that with a 10-0-0 record. However, second place was up for grabs and Greece and Bosnia and Herzegovina were seen as the favorites to grab that spot. Instead, Finland was the country that finished runner-up in Group J after shutting out the other four teams in the group at home aside from Italy. A road win against Armenia proved pivotal, as did an incredibly successful qualifying campaign from Teemu Pukki. Pukki notched 10 of Finland’s 16 goals and found the back of the net as often as the country’s opponents.
Team Preview
It all starts up top with Pukki. He is three goals away from passing Jari Litmanen as the top scorer in the history of the Finnish national team thanks to his strong performance in qualifying. Pukki has 30 goals in 90 caps with the national team, and once he surpasses Litmanen, it will be a long time before anyone else catches Norwich City’s star forward. Pukki had 29 goals in Championship during the 2018-19 season, and his 25 goals this season have been instrumental in the Canaries heading back to the Premier League.
There isn’t much else in terms of proven talent on the national team. Pukki is easily the leading goal scorer and the player with the second-most goals is Union Berlin’s Joel Pohjanpalo with nine tallies.
MLS fans will see two familiar faces on the Finnish national team in midfielder Robin Lod and defender Jukka Raitala. Raitala is the second-most experienced defender on the team next to Joona Toivio. He has 55 caps for the Eagle-Owls, but he has yet to find a goal. Meanwhile, Lod has four goals in 44 caps for his country. He had a breakout season with Minnesota United last year with seven goals in 20 matches, so Lod could be asked to help with the scoring.
Midfielder Tim Sparv is the second-most capped player on the roster next to Pukki. Sparv is expected to captain Finland for this competition, but he has not played much club ball over the last couple years. He only appeared in five matches for Denmark’s Midtjylland in 2019-20, and Sparv has just 18 caps for Greek side AEL this season.
Fredrik Jensen is a promising young midfielder who has already scored seven times in 16 matches. He has fallen out of favor with club side Augsburg though with just one start and nine appearances. Glen Kamara could make an impact too after coming up in the Arsenal youth system before finding himself at Rangers.
The most proven player on the roster is goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky. Hradecky has been the first-choice goaltender for Bundesliga sides Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen over the last five seasons. He is still in his prime at 31 years old, and he will have to stand on his head for Finland to escape the group.
A result in any of the three matches will be considered a success for Finland considering their dearth of talent in comparison to the other teams in this group.
Finland Schedule
GROUP STAGE
Saturday June 12
Denmark vs. Finland (Copenhagen; noon ET, 6 p.m.)
Wednesday June 16
Finland vs. Russia (Saint Petersburg; 9 a.m. ET, 3 p.m.)
Monday June 21
Finland vs. Belgium (Saint Petersburg; 3 p.m. ET, 9 p.m.)
Finland’s History at the European Championships
Finland used to be a complete non-entity in international soccer. However, the Finns have played better in recent years with at least three wins in each European Championship qualifying campaign since 1996. Still, they have lost half their games in Euro qualifying since they first tried to qualify for the tournament in 1968.
Log into BookMaker Sportsbook and get the best Soccer Betting Odds, Soccer Betting Articles and information about this and all other sports betting events!
