Kazakhstan-Finland is a match valid for the fifth day of Group H of Euro 2024 qualifiers and is played on Thursday at 4 pm: predictions.
Surprisingly, leading Group H is them. Kazakhstan and Finland after four rounds look down on everyone, including heavily favored Denmark. Three wins and one loss: this is the balance, so far, of the two selections. Who, if the qualifiers absurdly ended now, would already hold a ticket to the event to be organized next summer by Germany.
This would certainly be a dream for Kazakhstan, which has never played the final stage of a major tournament like the European Championship since joining Uefa twenty-one years ago. The campaign of the selection led by Russian Magomed Adiev had started with a home defeat against Slovenia, which presaged the worst. And instead in the next match came a resounding victory against the strongest and highest-ranked national team in the grouping, Denmark, overturned from 0-2 to 3-2 in the last twenty minutes of play in front of a crowd that could not believe its eyes. But Kazakhstan did not stop with its success against the Danes: in the next two games it made a quick bite out of lowly San Marino (0-3) and, most importantly, went on to take three platinum points in Belfast at home to Northern Ireland (0-1) thanks to a goal scored in the 88th minute by Aimbetov, the third in the last four appearances for the striker who plays for his homeland, Astana.
The qualification dream is intact
Finland’s path is virtually identical to that of the Kazakhs. Pukki and his teammates had surrendered 3-1 to Denmark in the opener but then racked up three wins in a row
Finnish players at the end of the match
Since the Copenhagen match, the Finns have not lost or conceded any more goals. A 1-0 win in Slovenia and two home victories, both clear-cut, against Northern Ireland (2-0) and San Marino, swept 6-0 at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. There are still five games left to play but the feeling is that both Finland and Kazakhstan have a huge chance to win a historic qualification. Of course, the margin for error is always very small, as behind them are Denmark and Slovenia with one point less.
The prediction
Both are aware that these three points weigh a lot. And that a win, if we consider that they will have to face San Marino one more time, could be almost decisive. Kazakhstan also showed Northern Ireland they mean business and it would not be a surprise if they manage to avoid defeat again in a match in which Finland could also go down to the wire.
The likely lineups for Kazakhstan-Finland
- KAZAKISTAN (5-4-1): Shatsky; Malyi, Bystrov, Marochkin, Alip, Vorogovskiy; Zaynutdinov, Beysebekov, Tagybergen, Orazov; Samorodov.
- FINLAND (4-3-3): Hradecky; Alho, Ivanov, Tomas, Uronen; Taylor, Schuller, Kamara; Kallman, Pukki, Antman.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
