Scotland vs Finland Preview
On Friday, Scotland will host the first leg of our EURO 2025 playoff at Easter Road before heading to Helsinki on Tuesday. Team news for ourselves, and some standouts in the Finnish camp.
It is underselling it to call this game the biggest game the SWNT have played since Ireland came to Hampden in 2022. Then, it was World Cup qualification and ultimately disappointment. Now, it is a chance to head to Switzerland for the EUROs and it has to end differently.
Tickets for the home game are available here, a loud Scotland support could make all the difference as we push for a crucial result in the home leg with over 5,000 are expected to be in attendance for the away leg in Helsinki.
The Nitty Gritty
Quickly before we get into the detail of each team, the format.
In round one we beat fellow League B side Hungary, while Finland faced off against Montenegro of League C due to their League A status. Once again, illustrating the importance of us retaining our place in League A this time around.
We meet now in one of seven playoff finals aiming to join the nine qualified teams at next year’s EUROs. Already qualified are each League A group winners and runners up, alongside Switzerland as hosts.
Regular two-legged rules are in effect, the cumulative score of both games will determine the result of the tie. In the event of a draw, the game will head for extra time and penalties with the away goal rule consigned to history (in case, like us, you grew up with it being a rule and keep forgetting it is no longer used).
The Home View
For Scotland it is a largely unchanged squad. The biggest talking point being Martinez Losa once again swapping Kathy Hill and Kelly Clark, with the Celtic defender replacing her Rangers counterpart in this squad. It is a decision that does ask the question of whether he is really looking at a long term future for Scotland with a number of talented, younger, centre backs overlooked to take the fourth central defender spot (although Hill and Clark are both more than deserving of a spot themselves). That conversation put on pause for another day in such ‘must win’ circumstances but a trend to keep an eye on.
The other change sees Lauren Davidson drop out for Chelsea Cornet, leaving Martha Thomas as the only natural centre forward option in the squad.
Scotland haven’t lost a match in 90 minutes since that painful defeat to England late last year, playing ten in that time and averaging 2.1 goals per game. Martha Thomas has been on a goalscoring tear, netting six times across her last five Scotland internationals. Although at club level she is yet to score for Spurs in the WSL despite racking up an xG of 2.0 from her 12 shots so far.
In the goalkeeping department Eartha Cumings is coming in fresh off her triumphant Damallsvenskan season with Rosengård that saw her set a new clean sheet record for the league, while Lee Gibson is sat at the top of the SWPL clean sheet charts with six.
Lastly, there is a place for Emma Watson for the second time since she returned from the ACL injury that halted a very promising start in a Scotland shirt. She has since made her Manchester United debut, playing the full 90 and earning player of the match recognition in their League Cup win over Everton.
Finnish Threats
Finland may have finished bottom of their League A group, but with a win over Italy and draws with both the Netherlands and Norway they have shown that they have the ability to compete with the top sides.
We have faced them on four occasions in the 2020s, losing thrice and drawing the other. It was also the Boreal Owls who denied us a place at EURO 2022, with Rantanen’s comical goal at Easter Road underlining a period of SWNT history we would rather forget.
Our last meeting came in February this year, a 1-1 draw in the Pinatar Cup with an eventual loss on penalties. That game saw both sides fail to capitalise on their chances in high winds. An on-pitch argument between Cuthbert and Martinez Losa and a broadcast mistake showing a guy eating his lunch providing much of the drama on the day.
Head coach, Marko Saloranta, typically rotates between a 5-4-1 and a 4-4-1-1 depending on the level of team they are facing. This generally sees Linda Sällström in a supporting role in attack with changes in midfield to counter their opposition.
Eveliina Summanen stands out in the squad, with the Spurs midfielder recently putting a 40 yarder top bins to seal a win against Aston Villa. Her club midfield partner Olga Ahtinen also features, despite only starting twice in the WSL this season. She is one of the league leaders amongst passing stats, and could be crucial in controlling the play for our opposition - as well as performing a marking job on Weir or Cuthbert.
Sanni Franssi of Real Sociedad hasn’t been a national team regular over their League A campaign, but is one of the most exciting wingers in Liga F with the ball at her feet. She has completed 0.88 take ons and 1.28 key passes per 90 this season which makes her a serious threat whether it be from the start or the bench, especially as we are without defensive leader Rachel Corsie.
AC Milan wing back Emma Koivisto, Vittsjö’s Linda Sällström, and Leicester’s Jutta Rantala (who misses out from this squad through injury), are tied for top scorer of their qualification campaign with two each. Not a high scoring campaign for them, although the caveat of facing Italy, Netherlands, and Norway applies, with goals spread throughout the squad so far.