N. Ireland v Finland preview: Hosts aiming to build on opening win
Michael O’Neill, the man who got them to Euro 2016, will therefore be hoping that his second homecoming at Windsor Park goes much better than his first, which ended in a 3-0 drubbing against Norway.
A lot has changed for the better since that gloomy day in February 2012, and while the Green and White Army’s latest UEFA Nations League (UNL) home campaign disappointed (W1, D1, L1), a perfect return of four home shutouts during their unsuccessful 2022 World Cup qualification campaign (W1, D3) shows what they are capable of at the back.
A chastening 3-1 away loss to ECQ Group H top seeds Denmark was not the start Finland would have hoped for, as they strive to make it to a second successive Euro finals.
And it gets no easier, as Finland prepare to make their first trip to Belfast since March 2015, when the Eagle-Owls suffered a 2-1 defeat en route to a failed thrust for Euro 2016.
That result made it three losses in as many competitive away H2Hs for Finland, and February 2003 still marks the only previous time they’ve won at Windsor Park at all.
Meanwhile, the team’s more recent away form overall provides a very mixed outlook, with no draws in competitive trips abroad made since the end of Euro 2020 (W3, L4).
Players to watch: Dion Charles’ first goalscoring international appearance was hugely memorable on Thursday, as he netted both of Northern Ireland’s goals against San Marino.
As for the visitors, Benjamin Källman rounded off the scoring in Finland’s final UNL trip of 2022 (W 2-0 vs Montenegro), meaning that all of his three competitive international goals to date have been his team’s second and final of the day.
Hot stat: Five of Finland’s last seven games have produced exactly two total match goals.
