no goal in the first period, a hard blow for Dubois
0-0 at the break!
Not much has happened. Dubois is expected to come out with an injury after holding the back of his thigh after a sprint. Pavard was ready to enter, but will have the break to warm up.
Ouch Dubois
The Lyon side remains on the ground outside the field after a sprint and requests the replacement. Meanwhile, Finland are playing the corner and are very close to scoring!
Little thrill on corner
Finland play it two and the ball lands on a local player’s foot following a cross, but the control is too long. Yes, we said « little » thrill, but not much is happening.
Only dummies for the moment on all terrains
And 6 goals in 7 games as we speak.
Pukki shoots again
Full axis in front of the surface, but it goes above. Finns are a bit more dangerous, but not too dangerous either.
The French substitutes will take turns warming up for 5 minutes
And the term « to warm up » is very first degree under the fine November rain in Helsinki.
Lloris is vigilant
Pukki manages to turn around and shoot with his left foot. The French keeper quietly captures.
Dry strike from Mbappé, but not on target
It was perhaps a bit far away, in the wake of a good recovery from Tchouaméni. The Monegasque environment is doing the job, showing its technique and its ability to recover.
Griezmann fails to straighten the ball in pivot
Mbappé had hit on the right side and centered on Hradecky’s fists. Griezmann manages to recover the ball, not to chain. But it looks like the first chance of the match!
Kamara does not fit far away
It was safe, but it was Finland’s first shot (well, France only shot two).
Finland can’t get out
Because of technical limitations, but also because the blue pressing is rather interesting;
Diaby gets up
He was left on the ground after colliding with a Finn during a race. And with its speed, it inevitably hurts.
The Finnish bloc is replaced very quickly
However, there was space and speed at the start, with Upamecano not hesitating to project himself directly.
Digne tries his hand at striking from afar
Crushed and unframed strike. The Blues have not yet found the fault, facing the Finns who are mostly content to avoid giving spaces for the moment.
Small point on the placement of the defense to 3 of the Blues
Koundé is obviously on the right, Zouma is the most axial, and Upamecano on the left.
Diaby is unable to resume properly
Center low to the ground of Digne, a hair behind the Leverkusen striker. Everything started from a call behind the defense of Diaby, whose verticality can do good.
France settles in the Finnish camp
The Blues circulate the ball well, facing a local team quite low in its system of 5 defenders.
Let’s go !
Finland kicks off!
Make way for hymns
With the Marseillaise to begin with, which is well respected. We even hear the French supporters singing.
The teams enter the field
Nice atmosphere in Helsinki. It is recalled that the Blues are already qualified, but that Finland is playing its place in the play-offs.
Benzema is preserved
Karim Benzema does not start this Tuesday evening with the France team so as not to take any risk, after spending four days without collective training last week and playing against Kazakhstan last Saturday in Paris. Prevention of staff and player to avoid injury.
(LT)
Finland’s compo
The composition of Finland:
Hradecky – Uronen, Ivanov, Väisänen, O’Shaughnessy, Hämäläinen – Nissilä, Schüller, Kamara – Pukki, Lod
Substitutes:
Joronen, Eriksson, Arajuuri, Toivio, Tenho, Taylor, Jensen, Granlund, Valakari, Forss, Pohjanpalo, Niskanen
The line-up of the Blues against Finland
Didier Deschamps makes five changes for the game against Finland, compared to the team that started against Kazakhstan. Kurt Zouma, Léo Dubois, Lucas Digne, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Moussa Diaby are holders. N’Golo Kanté and Karim Benzema are on the bench, as are brothers Hernandez and Kingsley Coman.
The composition of the Blues:
Lloris – Koundé, Zouma, Upamecano – Dubois, Digne – Tchouaméni, Rabiot – Diaby, Griezmann, Mbappé
Substitutes:
Costil, Areola, Pavard, Lenglet, Veretout, Ben Yedder, Coman, Kanté, Guendouzi, Benzema, L. Hernandez, T. Hernandez
(with LT)
The entire European program of the evening
All matches are scheduled for 8:45 p.m.
► Finland – France (group D)
► Bosnia – Ukraine (group D)
► Wales – Belgium (group E)
► Czech Republic – Estonia (group E)
► Gibraltar – Latvia (group G)
► Montenegro – Turkey (group G)
► Netherlands – Norway (group G)
Welcome, kick off at 8:45 p.m.
Good evening everyone, welcome to this live RMC Sport to follow Finland-France, the last game of the year for the Blues.
This meeting counting for the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup is without issue for the France team, already qualified since Saturday and its 8-0 victory against Kazakhstan.
Finland is not at all. Second in Group D, Markku Kanerva’s team is only two points ahead of Ukraine, which receives Bosnia-Herzegovina at the same time.
