San Marino fall to Finland in front of 32,000 at Helsinki Olympic Stadium

In front of a packed Helsinki Olympic Stadium – with over thirty-two thousand fans in attendance – the San Marino National Team lost 6-0 to hosts Finland in their fourth match of the EURO 2024 Qualifiers. The match had a very different script from last Thursday’s game in Parma, where the Titans put in a good performance against Kazakhstan. The Scandinavians came into this one with 6 points and a clear desire to temporarily go top of Group H in front of their home crowd. Finland threatened inside two minutes with a fine, accurate cross from the right by Alho towards centre forward Pohjanpalo, the Venezia striker in Serie B trying with a header but sending the ball well wide. Shortly afterwards Di Maio did well to head clear a free-kick swung in from three-quarters for Kanerva’s side; on the rebound, full-back Alho again tried his luck from distance but his effort caused no problems for Elia Benedettini, who watched it drift wide. On the counter, the Titans also made themselves seen with a nice exchange between Nanni and Berardi, the latter quick to bring the ball under control and shoot well with his left, but Hradecky held on. Finland, however, found the breakthrough on the quarter hour: sustained pressure from the Scandinavians ended with Kamara who, on the edge of the box, combined well with Schüller and, through on goal against Elia Benedettini, beat him to make it 1-0. After the goal, the Finns appeared to ease off the tempo and managed the game with solid possession. Just after the half-hour mark, though, a flash of quality from Kanerva’s side saw Schüller curl a precise effort from the edge of the area against the base of the post to Elia Benedettini’s right. On 39 minutes, Finland had another chance to double their lead, but Elia Benedettini was outstanding in tipping over Suhonen’s powerful shot and turning it behind for a corner. The 2-0 goal for the hosts did arrive shortly afterwards, with a cross from the left into the box by Ivanov; Källman was left far too alone in the area and beat Benedettini with a header, scoring his second goal of the qualifying campaign. The sides went into the break with Finland two goals up, and during the interval the home side made their first substitution, with Pallas replacing Uronen. The pattern did not change after the restart: Finland continued to press and on 55 minutes could have made it three when Kamara picked out Pohjanpalo well in behind. The Venezia striker’s control was not perfect but he still drove towards goal, only for Benedettini to come to the rescue and close him down well. Kanerva’s team kept pushing and shortly after the hour another shot on target from Suhonen was again beaten away by Elia Benedettini. The Scandinavian third did come, however, on 65 minutes when a defensive slip from Alessandro Golinucci allowed substitute Håkans to strike unopposed and beat Elia Benedettini. Just a few minutes later the hosts struck again: the move developed down the left, with Pukki squaring into the middle, Taylor was unable to get a touch from close range but Håkans was once more the quickest to react and lashed home for 4-0. It was a difficult spell for the Titans, who felt the blow psychologically and just two minutes later conceded Finland’s fifth as – following a corner for Costantini’s side – the hosts broke quickly and clinically on the counter, with Håkans completing his hat-trick in just nine minutes. Things went from bad to worse for the Biancazzurri because only 120 seconds later came Finland’s 6-0 goal, a thunderous strike from home idol Teemu Pukki which sent the crowd – especially the many children in the stands – into raptures at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. In the closing stages the Scandinavians continued to attack and went close twice more through Taylor, who hit the outside of the post, and in stoppage time through Suhonen. After two minutes of added time, Kosovar referee Genc Nuza brought proceedings to an end. Finland moved top of Group H on nine points pending the evening’s other matches, and strengthened their ambitions of qualifying for EURO 2024. The next appointment for the Titans will be in September, away in Copenhagen against Denmark.  

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European Qualifiers 2023, Matchday 4 | Finland v San Marino 6-0 SAN MARINO Benedettini; Fabbri, Di Maio (89' Franciosi), Rossi; D'Addario, Lunadei (66' Mularoni), Mi. Battistini (78' E. Golinucci), A. Golinucci, Tosi (78' Ma. Battistini); Nanni, Berardi (66' Vitaioli). Substitutes: Simoncini, S. Benedettini, Palazzi, Ceccaroli, Cevoli, Zafferani, Hirsch. Head coach: Fabrizio Costantini FINLAND Hradecky; Alho (81' Soiri), Ivanov, Tomas, Uronen (46' Pallas); Suhonen, Schüller (60' Taylor), Kamara; Antman (60' Håkans), Pohjanpalo (60' Pukki), Källman. Joronen, Sinisalo, Hoskonen, Jensen, Kairinen, Niskanen, Peltola. Head coach: Markku Kanerva   Referee: Genc Nuza (KOS) Assistant referees: Fatlum Berisha (KOS), Bujar Selimaj (KOS) Fourth official: Visar Kastrati (KOS) VAR: Ivan Bebek (CRO) AVAR: Dario Bel (CRO) Scorers: 16' Kamara, 39' Källman, 65', 72', 74' Håkans, 76' Pukki Booked: Tosi Attendance: 32,812

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