Käld tips Finns to fly

By Kevin Ashby

The UEFA European Women's Championship play-offs begin on Saturday with a repeat of the 1998 decider between Finland and Russia.

Play-offs lost
The Russians triumphed 2-1 in both legs six years ago to progress to the following summer's FIFA Women's World Cup, while having missed out on that tournament in the United States, the Finns suffered further disappointment as they lost a play-off for the 2001 EURO, 10-3 on aggregate to Sweden. Speaking to uefa.com today, Finland coach Mikael Käld said his side are well placed to avoid a hat-trick of near-misses.

Umeå trio
"In 1998 everyone played at home in Finland so we didn't have as much experience as we do now - nowadays I have seven players in my lineup who play in Norway and Sweden and are used to tough games and are in good shape," he said. Chief among them are Sanna Valkonen, Jessica Julin and Laura Kalmari, who ply their trade in northern Sweden for European champions Umeå IK.

January draw
Finland qualified for the play-offs as one of the two best third-placed teams after drawing 1-1 with Group 1 winners Sweden a fortnight ago. Russia were more comfortable in finishing second in Group 3 behind France, who like the Swedes, Denmark and Germany are in the 19 January draw for next summer's finals along with hosts England.

'Separate parts'
Finland are in the midst of a record unbeaten run, scoring 14 goals and conceding two in negotiating six matches without defeat. Käld said there had been a noticeable improvement in the side during their eight-game qualifying campaign: "The team is far more of a unit. Previously we played as separate parts but now we defend and attack as one."

Striking threat
Russia are European Championship regulars and finished Group 3 impressively - winning 5-2 in France before thrashing Hungary 4-0. Strikers Natalia Barbachina and Olga Letiouchova scored seven of those nine goals, and will again represent Russia's primary threat on Saturday. "Russia have two brilliant forwards, two very good midfielders and two very good defenders, which makes a powerful spine," Käld said.

Finnish tactics
"We're strong in the air and their forwards are very quick so we have to press them into playing long balls. It's important that we use the second ball against them; after fighting to win the ball the next pass is crucial. Hopefully if they play long there'll be a lot of space for us to exploit."

Duo in doubt
Defender Petra Vaelma is likely to miss out having skipped training today after twisting her knee in yesterday's session. Her FC United team-mate Jessica Thorn, the leading scorer domestically this season, has been suffering from back pain for a fortnight and is also a doubt. Both players will have fitness tests prior to the 14.00 (12.00CET) kick-off. The return will be played in Moscow on Wednesday.

Feel-good factor
With the country having hosted the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship in August, there is a feel-good factor in Finland at the moment - something Käld hopes will continue at the Pietarsaaren Keskuskenttä: "The game against Sweden was a great experience for the spectators - almost 3,000 of them - and Pietarsaaren is only 100km or so from Vaasa. It's very important that we have a good crowd. The players said how fantastic it was to play in such an atmosphere against Sweden."