English
Finland Dominates but Malta Steals a Late Goal in Helsinki
Helsinki, Finland – In a match held at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Finland displayed clear dominance in possession, holding 61% compared to Malta’s 39%. The Finnish team generated a total of 14 shots, 8 of which were on target, while Malta only managed 4 shots, with a single clear opportunity.
Despite their territorial dominance and greater number of created chances, Finland failed to convert their superiority into goals for most of the match. The Maltese defense proved solid and organized, frustrating the Finnish attacking attempts.
Against all odds, Malta managed to break the deadlock in the 82nd minute with a goal by J. Grech, assisted by Y. Chouaref. This goal surprised the spectators who witnessed the match. The Malta national team capitalized on one of its few opportunities to snatch a valuable goal.
Although Finland dominated in statistics such as corner kicks, with 8 in their favor compared to Malta’s 1, and committed more fouls (15 against 8), it was not enough to secure a victory at home. The match, refereed by Julian Weinberger, was characterized by the absence of yellow or red cards for either team.
Substitutions finland: at minute 61 J. Pohjanpalo came in and R. Lod went out., at minute 73 A. Markhiev came in and N. Skytta went out., at minute 73 R. Mahuta came in and O. Jukkola went out., at minute 78 B. Kallman came in and T. Pukki went out., at minute 78 O. Antman came in and T. Keskinen went out.
Substitutions malta: at minute 65 J. Mbong came in and A. Overend went out., at minute 79 P. Mbong came in and J. Grech went out., at minute 79 Z. Muscat came in and G. Mentz went out., at minute 88 E. Pepe came in and J. Borg went out., at minute 88 I. Cardona came in and A. Zammit went out.
The teams lined up as follows:
Finland
Titulares:
Malta
Titulares:
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