Finnish outsiders aim to steal spotlight

The Finland coach Markku Kanerva said "it suits us perfectly" for all the talk to be about England before the sides get the UEFA European Under-21 Championship under way at Örjans vall in Halmstad on Monday.

First finals
Drawn in Group B alongside the 2007 semi-finalists and their fellow heavyweights Germany and Spain, Finland are readying themselves for a daunting introduction to tournament football as they compete in their first major finals. "It's going to be a huge challenge for us, that's for sure," said Kanerva, "but we've prepared very well and are ready to meet that challenge. England are among the favourites and therefore have all the pressure on them – it's our goal to surprise them."

No underdogs
Stuart Pearce did not sound like a man preparing to be caught unawares, however, insisting his team's preparation had been thorough. "You can't underestimate anybody in international football; it's impossible now," said the England manager. "I've seen enough Finland games, six matches, to know they've got a resilience about them. I don't see underdogs here. Whoever you play, you need to be at your out-and-out best to be competitive, and if not you'll be beaten."

Mammoth shoot-out
England have twice won the competition and have been semi-finalists on five further occasions, including the last edition when they were eliminated after a mammoth shoot-out against hosts the Netherlands. "We had camaraderie in 2007 but that grew during the tournament," said Pearce. "Now I feel the closeness is there straight away. The players' attitude on the training camp and their focus off it has been fantastic, as good as I've ever known it. There's a lot of talent here."

Onuoha concern
The 47-year-old's primary injury concern is Nedum Onuoha's thigh problem. "We'll make a decision on him tomorrow," said Pearce, who could replace the Manchester City FC centre-half with club-mate Micah Richards – short of matches after a groin injury – or James Tomkins, short of experience having only made his debut on Monday. Craig Gardner may fill in at right-back having played an attacking role in that 7-0 friendly victory against Azerbaijan.

Options
Finland are at full strength, giving Kanerva decisions to make. Does he start with Juha Hakola on the left of midfield and Perparim Hetemaj behind the lone striker, likely to be Berat Sadik, in his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation? Or deploy Hetemaj on the left with Jarno Parikka playing the No10 role? There will certainly be an emphasis on strength, leading to a potential clash of styles. "We're quite a physical team like England were," continued the coach, "but nowadays they play more modern football with more emphasis on positions which makes things more difficult for us."

Pride
The softly-spoken former central defender, 45, knows nothing can take away the honour of his side becoming the first team from the country to reach such a level, but he acknowledged that "we can feel even prouder after the tournament by getting some good results". Three points on Monday would suit him perfectly.