Five things we learned: Finland 0-1 Hungary

New formation, same results
Finland head coach Mixu Paatelainen has favoured a 4-3-2-1 formation – more commonly known as the 'Christmas tree' – for the majority of his four-year reign, yet changed approach for the home game with Hungary. Paatelainen opted for a 4-4-1-1 with two defensive midfielders in the middle, clearly looking for more solidity – especially on the counterattack when one or both of the Finland full-backs were upfield. While Finland indeed looked more solid, a 1-0 loss made it four Group F defeats in a row.

Stieber steals the show
Finland have conceded too many easy goals in this qualification campaign, yet this was not the case against Hungary. Zoltan Stieber's strike which settled Saturday's match was a quality finish worthy of winning any game, rather than a defensive lapse, breakdown in communication or individual error. In that respect Paatelainen's new system worked perfectly – yet the result remained the same.

Narrow losses proving costly
Finland had lost away to both Hungary and Northern Ireland by a single goal while they were beaten 2-0 at home by Romania, and a third successive one-goal defeat leaves them on four points from six matches. However, the only similarity here in Helsinki was the scoreline because after a nervy start against the Magyars, the hosts held their visitors at arm's length and for a spell in the second half it seemed that tighter defence did not mean weaker attack either. Then came Stieber's 82nd-minute stunner.

Hungary goalkeeper Gábor Király collects the ball in Finland©AFP/Getty Images

Concentration the key for Hungary
"For the last week we've been working really hard every day and concentrating on this game," said Hungarian goalkeeper Gábor Király. "That was why we won. It was a very important fixture and a great win for us. For a goalkeeper, it doesn't matter whether you have a lot to do or not very much; there may be just one or two shots like today, but you have to be ready when they come. It's a question of concentrating for 90 minutes, for me and for every player. We did that today."

Same old story for Finland
The improved display was little consolation to Finland, whose midfielder Perparim Hetemaj summed up the mood: "It's the same old story. We had our chances but didn't take them. We're just not getting results, unfortunately for ourselves and for our fans. It is not a question of attitude. Everyone gives everything in national team, every single time. Nobody who comes here gives anything less than 100%. It is a disappointment."