Finland forwards show the way

Finland 3-0 Iceland

Strikers on song
Finnish coach Antti Muurinen had called on his side to make amends for the 2-0 Group 9 loss in Palermo earlier this month and, inspired by the reunited strike partnership of Jari Litmanen and Mikael Forssell, they did just that. Both men were on target before Jonatan Johansson added a third.
 
Forssell marks return
Litmanen, who missed the Italy match, opened the scoring for the hosts when he calmly converted a 55th-minute penalty after a handball by Eidur Gudjohnsen. It was his 22nd goal for the national team - a new national record. Forssell scored the second two minutes later to mark his first international appearance on home soil since September 2001.

Rebuilding career
Since then Forssell has had to fight back from a cruciate ligament injury and is now rebuilding his career on loan at VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach from Chelsea FC. The scoring was completed eleven minutes from time as the visitors failed to clear the ball and Johansson, a 68th-minute substitute for Litmanen, struck.

Morale boost
The victory should raise Finnish morale ahead of the home EURO 2004™ qualifiers against Serbia and Montenegro and Italy on 7 and 11 June respectively. Muurinen's men are presently fourth in the group, with one win and three defeats from four games.

Bergsson missing
Iceland are also in action on the same dates, against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania, and they too need points after taking just three from a possible nine so far. Iceland were missing veteran defender Gudni Bergsson, who only ended a six-year break from international football when he returned for last month's Group 5 qualifier against Scotland.

Club commitments
Iceland coach Atli Edvaldsson was not pleased by Bergsson's absence, prompted by the demands of his club, Bolton Wanderers FC, who are in the middle of a battle for survival in the English Premiership.