Finland (FIN) will hope to become the first team to grab back-to-back wins in Euro 2020 when they face Russia (RUS) at Saint Petersburg Stadium. The 0-1 triumph over Denmark was their first-ever win in the history of the competition. Meanwhile, Russia suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Belgium in their opening game. The hosts were punished for their mistakes and face a must-win scenario against Finland.
Lukas Hradecky was Finland’s star performer against Denmark as the goalkeeper made some outstanding saves in the first half. He also denied Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from the spot.The Finland defense has a stern test against Russia, who scored 33 goals in the qualifiers. Also, Joel Pohjanpalo will be hoping to score in the second consecutive game.
It was a below-par performance from Russia in their Euro 2020 opener. Casual defending resulted in conceding the first two goals, and they managed to register only one shot on target. Skipper Artem Dzyuba and attacking midfielder Aleksandr Golovin will be keen to rediscover their qualifiers form, while the backline has to come up with an improved show.
Head-to-Head
Played: 4
FIN won: 0
RUS won: 4
Drawn: 0
Top Five Fantasy Points scorers (last match)
FIN: L Hradecky (19.5 pts), J Uronen (12.5 pts), J Pohjanpalo (10 pts), D O’Shaughnessy (9 pts), P Arajuuri (8 pts)
RUS: G Dzhikiya (3.5 pts), M Fernandes (3 pts), A Golovin (3 pts), M Ozdoev (3 pts), A Semyonov (3 pts)
Stats & Facts
- L Hradecky (GK) made six saves and stopped a penalty against Denmark in the Euro 2020 Group B match
- Russia has at least scored three goals in each of the four matches against Finland
- J Pohjanpalo (FOR) has scored three goals in his last three appearances for Finland
- A Semyonov (DEF) completed 44 passes against Belgium in the Euro 2020 Group B match
- J Uronen (DEF) grabbed the assist in the victory over Denmark in the Euro 2020 Group B match
Injuries/Suspensions
FIN: none
RUS: Y Zhirkov (doubtful)
Playing 11
FIN (possible): L Hradecky; D O’Shaughnessy, P Arajuuri, J Toivio; J Uronen, G Kamara, T Sparv, R Lod, J Raitala; T Pukki, J Pohjanpalo
RUS (possible): A Shunin; D Barinov, G Dzhikiya, A Semyonov; M Fernandes, R Zobnin, M Ozdoev, V Karavaev; A Miranchuk, A Golovin; A Dzyuba
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Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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