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The Nati’s last group opponent is under a lot of pressure. Finland could miss a World Cup quarter-final for the first time.
Legend:
The biggest name in Finland’s World Cup squad this year
Captain Mikael Granlund of the San Jose Sharks.
JustPictures/Jari Pestelacci
The hard-fought 3-1 win against Denmark on Monday evening in Prague didn’t really seem like a liberation for the Finns. In the first two thirds, “Suomi” ran unsuccessfully against modest Danes, who were also missing their most dangerous striker, Joachim Blichfeld.
And even after a double blow to make it 2-0, the Finnish supporters had to tremble again before the mandatory victory was secured thanks to an empty net shortly before the end.
Historic end is imminent
The Finns’ quarter-final qualification is not yet finalized. There is still a risk that “Leijonat” (The Lions) will miss out on making it to the round of the last 8 for the first time at a World Cup. And who could tip the scales? Exactly, Switzerland.
If Austria wins on Tuesday afternoon after 60 minutes against Great Britain, which is in great danger of relegation, Finland has to score points against the national team in the evening, otherwise it will be an unimaginable fact before the tournament. Because if there is a tie on points, the Austrians would be ahead due to the dramatic last second victory in the direct duel.
Team enjoys little credit
But how could it have gotten to this point that Finland, the 2022 Olympic champions and world champions, had to worry about reaching the quarter-finals? The Finnish journalist Kasperi Kunnas sees the following reasons for this:
- Lack of quality in the squad: “The big NHL reinforcements are missing this year. Our biggest star, Mikael Granlund, hasn’t received enough support from his teammates so far. He can’t create all the chances on his own, without help things look bad.”
- Negative trend: «Finland’s junior teams have hardly won any medals in recent years. In addition, we no longer had as many top-level NHL prospects. I think Finnish ice hockey is currently in a bit of a crisis.”
Although Finland still has progress in its own hands, the trust in this team among the Finnish population is not as great as usual: “If you were to do a national survey now to see whether Finland would reach the quarter-finals, the result would probably be around 50:50,” believes Kunnas.
Good friends reunion
Who knows, maybe Finland will unexpectedly receive help from the British and will be confirmed as a quarter-finalist before the duel with Switzerland. This would make Captain Granlund’s reunion with two good friends even sweeter.
The Finnish NHL star played with Nino Niederreiter for a total of 7 years and in two teams (Minnesota/Nashville). Granlund also knows Roman Josi very well from his 4 years with the Predators.