Euro 2020: Russia Aiming for Lift-off Against Finland

Finland vs Russia

Russia and Finland meet in Saint Petersburg on Wednesday for the second of their Euro 2020 matches following an opening round nobody will ever forget.

Stanislav Cherchesov’s Russia are rock bottom of Group B after suffering a thumping at the hands of Belgium, while Finland came through an emotionally draining fixture with a win over Denmark on the night the Danes’ star man Christian Eriksen’s life was saved on the pitch by medics administering CPR.

The Finland vs Russia betting odds say that Cherchesov’s should get their first win, but Finland are a well-organised team with fantastic spirit and a potent striker in Teemu Pukki.

Talking Points

How can Finland focus?

But it is hard for anyone to imagine the emotions racing around the Finland squad after their opening game at their very first finals tournament took a horrific turn when Denmark talisman Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch and had CPR administered as the world watched and prayed.

Just over an hour later the news came from Copenhagen hospital that Eriksen was in a stable position and the game was restarted almost two hours after he fell, with the fans of both teams still chanting his name.

Both teams struggled to regain their focus until Finland scored, against the run of play, when Joel Pohjanpalo met a cross from Jere Uronen and planted a header through the arms of Danish keeper Kasper Schmeichel and into the net.

Joel Pohjanpalo scored the lone goal during the Euro 2020 match between Denmark and Finland — Joel Pohjanpalo celebrates after scoring Finland’s only goal against Denmark in Copenhagen

Emotions have been running high in Finland from the moment they beat Lichtenstein 3-0 to qualify for Euro 2020 and Markku Kanerva, the 57-year-old schoolteacher turned head coach, can take a lot of credit for Finland’s history-making achievement.

His key man is Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki, who plundered ten goals in qualification and has scored 66 goals in 120 appearances for the newly promoted Canaries.

But Kanerva emphasises how the team effort has brought this small nation to its first Euro finals. He says: “Teemu’s job is to score goals but someone has to play the key passes so he will need the help of other players.”

Rangers’ 25-year-old midfielder Glen Kamara is one such player who has superb poise on the ball and can pick a pass. This team is together, and their incredible journey is nowhere near its end just yet.

The SBOTOP odds backed the newcomers to finish bottom of Group B but a point against Russia will surely take them through to the knockout phase of the competition, and if they can keep their focus, then that point is within reach.

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Misfiring Russia

There was uncertainty whether Russia’s opening game with Belgium would actually start on Saturday night as the world waited for news on Eriksen. But once the word came through that the Danish star was conscious and stable, Belgium set about the Russians, and Eriksen’s Inter Milan colleague Romelu Lukaku scored a brace with Thomas Meunier adding a third.

A loss against the best team in the world, according to FIFA rankings, is no disaster, though Russia arrived at Euro 2020 with just one win in five. Okay, Russia’s World Cup qualifier campaign started with wins over Malta and Slovenia, but then they lost 2-1 against Slovakia, and then Stanislav Cherchesov’s side drew with Poland in a warm-up before the Poles went on to draw with Iceland.

So, losing their opener at Euro 2020, the last three games have been less than encouraging for Russia, and with just three goals in the last four games Cherchesov’s men need to up the ante in front of goal. The weight of expectation rests on the huge shoulders of captain Artem Dzyuba, who has scored 29 goals in 53 appearances, while Atalanta’s 25-year-old midfielder Aleksei Miranchuk is an exciting player to watch.

History

Russia have totally dominated the historic head to head Finland vs Russia results, having won the four previous meetings, scoring 15 goals and conceding just one. The most recent meeting was back in 2009 when Russia won a World Cup qualifier 3-0.

Finland were without a win in six before their victory over Denmark and had lost the previous three games in a row, all warm-ups for the tournament, but they have started their World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign with two draws against decent opposition, Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Betting Tip

	Finland vs Russia	Total Goals 2-3 @ 1.83
	June 16, 21:00 (GMT+8)

Russia are at 1.68 to win, with the draw at 3.40 and Finland at 5.20, but this is a difficult match to call. Russia desperately needs a win but Finland are perfectly capable of taking a point from supposedly superior opposition.