Finland host Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday to kick off the UEFA Nations League tournament. The teams are joined by Romania and Montenegro in a very competitive League B group. >
Bosnia are ranked No. 59 in the world ahead of the UEFA Nations League. They missed out on World Cup qualification and limp into this weekend’s Nations League opener.
„A“ reprezentativci Bosne i Hercegovine su danas u TC NS/FS BiH odradili još jedan trening.Igrači se već treći dan spremaju za predstojeće četiri utakmice #UEFANationsLeague, a ono što najviše raduje stručni štab jeste da su svi spremni i da nema povrijeđenih igrača. pic.twitter.com/Fc7UgLalLk— NFS BIH (@NFSBiH) June 1, 2022
„A“ reprezentativci Bosne i Hercegovine su danas u TC NS/FS BiH odradili još jedan trening.Igrači se već treći dan spremaju za predstojeće četiri utakmice #UEFANationsLeague, a ono što najviše raduje stručni štab jeste da su svi spremni i da nema povrijeđenih igrača. pic.twitter.com/Fc7UgLalLk
Just one of Bosnia’s last five games in all competitions ended as a win. That win came in Bosnia’s most recent match against Luxembourg. Bosnia failed to score in three of their last four games. >
Finland are ranked No. 57 in the world according to FIFA. They too missed out on World Cup qualifying and will hope to achieve promotion to League A at this year’s Nations League. >
The Finns are winless in three straight international matches. They lost 2-0 to France and 2-0 to Slovakia, while drawing 1-1 with Iceland. >
Last summer, Finland spent their time playing at the Euro 2020 tournament. Bosnia and Herzegovina were not at the Euro tournament having failed to qualify for it. >
Finland are led by captain Lukas Hradecky of Bayer Leverkusen. He will play in goal and add to his 75 caps. Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki will be counted on to score goals for the team. He will likely be joined by fellow forward Joel Pohjanpalo from Caykur Rizespor.>
Bosnia have plenty of strong players, but several of their key men are ageing. Edin Dzeko will wear the armband and look to add to his 61 international goals. Dzeko is now 36 and may not be able to play as many minutes in a short-term tournament as before. >
Miralem Pjanic and Rade Krunic could be deployed together in midfield. Pjanic will be counted on to create goalscoring chances and Krunic will be the team’s box-to-box player. The goalkeeper position could be a worry for manager Ivaylo Petev. >
Konyaspor’s Ibrahim Sehic is likely to start in goal. The 33-year-old has made 41 previous international appearances for Bosnia and Herzegovina. >
Games between these teams have been even over the years. Finland hold a record of 2W-1D-2L versus Bosnia. In 2021, Finland and Bosnia played twice in World Cup qualifying with the Finns earning a 2-2 draw and 3-1 win, respectively. >
Finland should continue their good form against Bosnia and Herzegovina this weekend with a 1-0 win. Pukki could be the man to get on the scoresheet for the Finns.>