Mark H & Keke from FFS share their experiences of being in the stadium (and on the pitch) as the Finnish national team create a piece of history.
Download an MP3 of Finland Qualify For The Euros For The First Time. Ever!
Join Mark (@explorefinland), Mark (@FCSuomi), Keke (@kekemyllari) and Rich (@EscapeToSuomi) for regular episodes, where 3 old blokes sit and talk about football in Finland. In English.
We’ll recap the end of the Veikkausliiga season, discuss who won the European places and promotion & relegation between the leagues.
We also have the regular features, “ja sillä sipuli” and “Following”. But. Surely. There’s only one place to start this week. And that is with last week’s games for the National team against Liechtenstein and Greece.
Show Notes & Links
From episode 24 onwards, the show is recorded & broadcast live on PodBean. Follow the Finnish Football Show on PodBean for announcements of future broadcasts and to join the live show.
The #FFS theme tune is “Loppuun asti” by Lemmenpyssyt. You can listen to the song on Spotify or on YouTube . Connect with Lemmenpyssyt on Facebook.
First Half
Kick-off Euro 2020 Qualifiers
- 15.11 SUOMI 3 – 0 LIECHTENSTEIN – Finland’s second successive 3-0 home win, after the Armenia game in October
- 18.10 KREIKKA 2 – 1 SUOMI

Upcoming Huuhkajat fixtures are the “Desert Friendlies” in Doha, January 2020.
Half-time
“Ja sillä sipuli”
Finnish footy phrases / terminology.
- Rive-lution – Markku Kanerva’s nickname, Rive + revolution.
- Named in honour of Brazilian legend, Rivelino and the revolution Kanerva has brought to the Finnish national teams performances.
Second Half
Remember, the toVeikkausliiga split after 22 games into the Champions series and Challenger series http://www.veikkausliiga.com/.
Champions Series
- KuPS won the final game of the season 2-0, effectively an winner-takes-all play-off, away to 2nd place FC Inter. Winning the league by 5 points.

Europa League Play-offs
- Playing for a place in the two-legged final against 3rd placed Honka
- HJK Helsinki 2 – 2 FC Lahti
- HJK won 4-1 on penalties
- IFK Mariehamn 0 – 0 HIFK Helsinki
- Mariehamn won 4-2 on penalties
- HJK Helsinki 1 – 2 IFK Mariehamn
- Final:
- IFK Mariehamn 1 – 2 Honka
- Honka 1 – 0 IFK Mariehamn
Challenger Series
- VPS Vaasa finished bottom so were relegated.
- They were joined by KPV Kokkola who lost the relegation play-off 0 – 3 to TPS Turku.

Top Scorers table on Veikkausliiga.com
- Filip Valencic – FC Inter: 27 games 16 goals
- Lauri Ala-Myllymäki – Ilves: 24 games 12 goals
- Borjas Martin Gonzalez – FC Honka: 28 games 12 goals
- Timo Furuholm – FC Inter: 24 games 10 goals
- Erikson Carlos Dos Santos – HIFK: 27 games 10 goals
Injury time
“Following”
Our monthly nomination of someone we know/like on Twitter…
- Aidan Williams @yad_williams
- Senior Writer for @thesefootytimes
- Featured on @guardian and @theathletic
- Keke “Aidan has written a few decent Finland articles for These Footy Times.”
Full-time
Remember, you welcome to join us for the recording of the podcast which is streamed live on PodBean. You could join in by asking a question in person, or just come on and say hi.
Join our new Facebook page for advanced warning of the next Show. There you will also find the link to our Facebook Group, if you want to join or, better still, instigate a conversation!
You could also follow one (or all) of us on Twitter:
- Mark W @explorefinland
- Mark H @FCSuomi
- Keke @kekemyllari
- Rich @EscapeToSuomi
Useful Links
The most useful, of course, is our new website: https://finnishfootballshow.com/
These other should also keep you busy between shows: