FINLAND – ROMANIA | Friday, 20:45
For Finland and Romania, the chances of winning the group and gaining promotion to League A are slim. There are no verdicts yet in League B Group 3, but a look at the standings shows that the situation is already well defined. Bosnia leads with eight points, followed by Montenegro with seven. The fight for the jump in the category, in short, is now a matter between the two Balkan selections and probably the games will be decided in the direct clash in Zenica. The Finns and Romanians have no choice but to fight to avoid relegation to League C, which is why the match at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium is of particular importance.
Finland will try to ‘defend’ the extra point against the Romanians, who are currently last in the standings with three points. Markku Kanerva’s selection after a good start, in which they had a draw and a win in their home matches against Bosnia and Montenegro, lost their way. First the 1-0 defeat in Romania and then the shocking 3-2 defeat in the Bosnian away game. The coach is therefore hoping that the home air will ‘heal’ his men. Instead, the Tricolorii’s only positive result was the success against Finland: Bancu’s goal was decisive. Then it was only defeats for Edward Iordanescu’s selection, who in the remaining three matches never found the way to a goal, revealing a serious problem in the scoring phase.
Coach Iordanescu
The Prediction
Whoever loses will most likely find themselves in League C. Romania are at risk, as they almost have to get a result in the Finnish away game in order to overtake Pukki and his teammates and not have to depend on others in the last round. In the first leg, the Romanians prevailed, but it was a balanced match and the odds are very high that the Helsinki one will be as well. Finland is likely to adopt a more cautious attitude: they are ahead in the standings and even a draw would not be a waste. Considering the offensive numbers of both, it would not be surprising if the total number of goals is less than three.
Finland v Romania matchday squad
- FINLAND (5-3-2): Hradecky; Uronen, Vaisanen, Tenho, Jensen, Niskanen; Lingman, Kamara, Schuller; Kallman, Pukki.
- ROMANIA (4-3-3): Radu; Manea, Chiriches, Burca, Bancu; R. Marin, M. Marin, Stanciu; Alibec, Puscas, Tanase.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
