don’t underestimate Finland

With qualification for the World Cup being so difficult in Europe, many nations hopes were certainly considered “remote.” Being drawn into Group Four with Football powerhouses Germany and Russia, Finland’s chances was definitely one of those squads who knew the deck was stacked against the. However make no mistake about the forty-third ranked Huuhkajat as they cannot be underestimated and capable of playing with the best in the world. In their opening match against Germany they came within seven minutes of winning before Miroslav Klose brought the match to its final 3-3 draw. Manager Stuart Baxter has put together an efficient squad and knows that to step forward in their World Cup dreams, they will need to hold off the Russian attack. They are likely to shift to a 4-5-1 against Russia and tighten the midfield considerably.

Guus Hiddink will be anxious to erase the memories of the loss to Germany in which Russia, for the most part, played brilliantly after the break but uncharacteristically was unable to finish. With the success of CSKA Moscow’s eighteen year-old striker Alan Dzagoev after the break we could see him paired early with Pavel Pogrebniak and Andrei Arshavin in a 4-3-3. Russia will be aggressively looking for a “break-out” match as they haven’t been pleased with their offensive output in the two prior matches.

I will be reporting on the match as it concludes.