Finland take on the visitors Ireland in the round 3 match of UEFA Nations League group stage. The match will be played on Thursday, October 10th at Helsinki Olympic Stadium (Helsinki).
Finland struggles to replicate past successes. Under Kanerva, the "Eagle-Owls" made steady progress, with the peak being Euro 2020, the first major tournament they ever qualified for, doing so directly as runners-up in their group. They even started with a win against Denmark, albeit under extraordinary circumstances with Eriksen's incident. However, that was a one-off success. After that, they lost the next two group matches, missing out on the playoffs, and their performances in subsequent cycles have been mediocre. Their most recent opportunity, a spring playoff, ended in a crushing defeat to Wales in the first match. This season in the Nations League, Finland's start has been poor: a 0-3 loss to Greece and a 0-2 defeat to England. It seems the realistic goal for them is to secure third place in the group and avoid relegation.
| 2 x £10 Free Bet | Review | |||
| 100$-500$ for No Lose Free Bets | Review | |||
| 100% up to £200 | Review | |||
| Not available | Review |
Ireland have historically achieved more than their upcoming opponents. However, in recent years, they’ve struggled following a relatively successful Euro 2016 campaign (reaching the knockout stages for the first time in that tournament's format). Since then, they’ve faced larger setbacks. After a disastrous qualifying campaign last year (with all six points coming from wins over Gibraltar), the Irish turned to Heimir Hallgrímsson, one of the key figures behind Iceland’s success in the mid-2010s. However, even under his leadership, Ireland didn’t impress in September, losing both matches to the group favorites without scoring a goal. Now, they must show they can at least be competitive against Finland.
In the 2020 Nations League, Kanerva’s side turned the tables in this matchup. While they had previously lost four times and drawn once, Finland won both encounters in that edition with identical 1-0 scores. The odds are slightly in favor of the visitors, but for both teams, home advantage has often played a key role. Therefore, the bet is on a home win with a handicap of "0".
Prediction for the match: Finland to win with 0.0 handicap.
