Match Report: Finland 1-1 Romania

UEFA Nations League B3, Game 5

On Friday night, Finland were held to a frustrting 1-1 draw by Romania, in an open game in which both teams created good chances to score but, ultimately, could not score that elusive winning goal. The result leaves both teams with everything to play for in the final group games on Monday 26th October, with Finland needing to get a better result against Montenegro, than Romania achieve against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Continue reading Match Report: Finland 1-1 Romania

[Podcast] Finnish Football Show: Nations League Preview, Veikkausliiga, Suomen Cup Final, HJK and KuPS Women in Europe

They say size doesn’t matter, but 1 hour 18 minutes of FFS action may just change your mind!

Mark W, Rich, Keke & Ally get together to preview the autumn 2023 Nations League games for Finland against Romania and Montenegro. They also look at teh situation in the Veikkausliiga, now it has split into the Mestaruussarja and the Haastajasarja for the final five rounds of matches.

Ally then talks through the Suomen Cup final (KuPS 1-0 Inter) and HJK Helsinki’s first two Europa League performances against Real Betis and Roma. Finally, Rich looks forward to KuPS Women who have two games against St Pölten of Austria, in order to qualify for the Champions leagus group stage.

Continue reading “[Podcast] Finnish Football Show: Nations League Preview, Veikkausliiga, Suomen Cup Final, HJK and KuPS Women in Europe”

[Podcast] In Conversation with… Robert Ivanov

In this episode, Keke, Rich and Mark W are joined by Huuhkajat star, Robert Ivanov. A Finland international player who has recently cemented himself into the Huuhkajat starting 11, was a member of the Euro 2020 squad and who looks certain will be commanding the Finnish defence for years to come.

Roba tells us how it felt to grow up and progress through the Finnish league system, from an 18-year-old ‘bambi’ at PK-35 to FC Myllypuro to FC Vikingit ‘to play with my friends’ and into the Veikkausliiga with FC Honka. He talks about his dream of playing for Arsenal and his move to Warta Poznan, in Poland, and explains that his transfer may not have been quite as expensive as Keke thought!

Finally, Robert talks about his international career, the joy of being selected in the Euro 2020 squad and the ‘changing of teh guard’ in the Finland defence since the Euros.

Continue reading “[Podcast] In Conversation with… Robert Ivanov”

Preview: Nations League 2022-23, Group B3

Nations League. Helsinki, Bucharest, Zenica – 4-14th June 2022

The domestic football season in Finland now pauses for three weeks, as the men’s national team, the Huuhkajat takes centre stage. The third edition of the Nations League is about to start, with a breath-taking schedule of four games in ten days.

Mark W, Rich and Keke get together to talk through the Finland squad, it’s upcoming opponents (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro & Romania) and the new kit that has just been launched… Continue reading Preview: Nations League 2022-23, Group B3

[Podcast] Veikkausliiga Update, Huuhkajat Nations League Preview, Suomen Cup Thrills, Lina Lehtovaara at #UWCL & What Next For Teemu?

The FFS team was at full-strength again for this episode, which is handy as Mark W, Rich, Keke & Mark H had a very full agenda to get through – and that was before Keke invented the new ‘extra time’ segment 🤦🏻‍♂️

Once again, we have a broad update from across various aspects of football, Finland-style: we start with a Veikkausliiga update and further discussion of SJK Seinäjoki’s woes. We look a few weeks ahead to the four upcoming Nations League games and herald the Finn who’s participating in the Champions League Final.

There’s also a Suomen Cup update, pausing to laugh at Ilves losing to their reserves and to celebrate the smaller sides still in the fifth round. And we finish up by looking at the achievements of the Finns overseas, many successes and just a few disappointments.

Continue reading “[Podcast] Veikkausliiga Update, Huuhkajat Nations League Preview, Suomen Cup Thrills, Lina Lehtovaara at #UWCL & What Next For Teemu?”

[Podcast] Keke In Spain, Huuhkajat Friendlies, Helmarit World Cup Qualifiers, Veikkausliiga Starts, Stadium Woes

A ‘Finnish Football Show Lite‘ episode, as Rich and Keke get together to look back at Keke’s trip to Murcia for the Huuhkajat training camp, which included a seat in the press box for the two practice games against Iceland and Slovakia. They also look forward to the Helmarit World Cup qualifiers, against Slovakia and Georgia.

They wrap up by looking at the first weekend of Veikkausliiga action, which included the first managerial casualty of the season, and venue confusion, as some stadiums are not yet ready to be used – because of the incessant SNOW!! 🤬

Continue reading “[Podcast] Keke In Spain, Huuhkajat Friendlies, Helmarit World Cup Qualifiers, Veikkausliiga Starts, Stadium Woes”