Qualifying for the 2024 European Championship is underway and on the 26th of March, we have a meeting between Northern Ireland and Finland.
class="os_The game will be played at Windsor Park in Belfast and the hosts begin the match 2nd in Group H on 3 points while the visitors are in 5th place on 0 points.
Not the result we were after but a chance to put it right on Sunday. Thank you for your amazing support once again!🇫🇮 @Pohjoiskaarre #Huuhkajat #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/VDk5XVqLxZ— Viljami Sinisalo (@VSinisalo01) March 24, 2023
Not the result we were after but a chance to put it right on Sunday. Thank you for your amazing support once again!🇫🇮 @Pohjoiskaarre #Huuhkajat #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/VDk5XVqLxZ
Northern Ireland come into the game on the back of a 2-0 win at San Marino in their opening group fixture. class="os_Northern Ireland opened the scoring in the 24th minute and added a second goal 10 minutes into the second half.
class="os_It was a game Northern Ireland were expected to win against a team who are likely to finish bottom of the group.
The win at San Marino means Northern Ireland are undefeated in 3 of their 4 most recent fixtures in all competitions. They beat Kosovo at home in the Nations League, San Marino away in Euro 2024 qualifying, and picked up a point thanks to a 2-2 draw at home with Cyprus in the Nations League.
Home form in European Championship qualifying shows Northern Ireland have failed to win any of their last 3 matches. There have been defeats against Germany and Slovakia plus a 0-0 draw with Netherlands.
However, in their 8 most recent home matches of all competitions, Northern Ireland have been undefeated 7 times.
Finland travel to Belfast having suffered a 3-1 defeat at group favourites Denmark on Thursday night. The Danes opened the scoring in the 21st minute but Finland equalised shortly after half time. However, Denmark upped their game towards the end of the match and having taken the lead in the 82nd minute, they added a third goal to take maximum points.
The defeat against Denmark means Finland have failed to win any of their 5 most recent fixtures and have won only 1 of their last 9 matches.
The victory was away to Montenegro in the Nations League but there have since been defeats to Sweden, Estonia, and Denmark plus draws with North Macedonia and Norway.
Trends show Finland have won 2 of their last 6 European Championship qualifying games, losing the other 4 matches. Their away record shows 3 straight defeats in European Championship qualifying.
Team news and Northern Ireland are likely to go with the same starting XI from the San Marino game. That means Dion Charles will be joined in attack by Conor Washington and the hosts will play three at the back.
Finland could make some changes to their starting XI following the loss in Denmark. Anssi Suhonen, Marcus Forss, and Tuomas Ollila are pushing for a place in the team.
Northern Ireland know their home games are important if they are to finish in the top two places.
However, Finland will be keen to avoid another defeat so early in the group and that could lead to a tight game, with few goal scoring chances. This match could end level, with no goals scored.