Kuqi urges caution against Azeris

Finland striker Shefki Kuqi has warned supporters not to expect a Saturday stroll when Roy Hodgson's team take on Azerbaijan in their penultimate Group A qualifier.

Defeat in Baku
Kuqi came off the bench as Finland lost 1-0 to their weekend opponents in Baku last March, prompting the Fulham FC forward's cautious approach to the rematch. "We must bear in mind that our only away defeat of the campaign has come against Azerbaijan," said the 31-year-old. "The Azeris are skilful, they can move the ball around fast if given space, and we have to be careful."

Playing catch-up
Having drawn their last three group games, Finland need to beat new coach Gjoko Hadzievski's team in Helsinki to remain in UEFA EURO 2008™ contention. The Finns sit fourth in the section, level on points with Serbia in third but three behind second-placed Portugal – whom they face in Porto next Wednesday. Victory on Saturday is essential.

'We must score'
"Azerbaijan have a new coach and some new players, and I expect another tough contest against them," continued Kuqi. "But we must concentrate on our game. We need to score goals and I'm confident we will get at least one." Finland's preparations did suffer a slight setback on Thursday, though, when coach Hodgson had to stop training after only 20 minutes because of a frozen pitch. An artificial-turf surface eventually saved the day.