Women's EURO 2022: Denmark vs Finland match facts, stats, ones to watch
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
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Denmark and Finland meet for a fourth time at a UEFA Women's EURO, and it is the Finns who have had the better of previous encounters.
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Denmark vs Finland: Head-to-head
- Denmark and Finland meet for a fourth time at a UEFA Women's EURO as the second round of Group B matches gets under way in Milton Keynes.
- Both teams will be aiming to recover from convincing opening Group B losses on 8 July, when each conceded four goals.
- Denmark restricted Germany to just one strike in the first half at Brentford but could not contain their opponents after the interval. The eight-time European champions added a further three after the break, including two from substitutes. Danish misery was compounded in added time when replacement Kathrine Møller Kühl was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
- Finland stunned Spain at Stadium MK with Linda Sällström's first-minute strike, the fastest ever group stage goal. La Roja hit back to win 4-1, however, the first three goals headers and the fourth an added-time penalty.
- The nations are facing each other for the first time since January 2019, when Denmark's Mille Gejl scored the only goal 17 minutes from time in a Cyprus friendly.
- The Danes pipped Finland to a spot in the quarter-finals of EURO 2013 thanks to a 1-1 group stage draw in Gothenburg in what was the last competitive encounter between the pair. Mia Brogaard hit the 29th-minute opener for Denmark, with Annica Sjölund's 87th-minute equaliser not enough for the Finns to leapfrog their opponents and clinch a last-eight place.
- Denmark are unbeaten in their last four fixtures against Finland, winning three.
- Finland are undefeated in their three EURO meetings with Denmark, beating them in the group stage in 2005 and 2009.
- Hosts Finland kicked off their 2009 group stage campaign with a 1-0 win against Denmark in Helsinki, Maija Saari scoring the sole goal. That is Finland's only victory in their last seven meetings with Denmark in all competitions (D1 L5).
- These sides also met when England previously hosted this tournament in 2005. Finland secured a 2-1 victory in Blackpool in the final round of Group A matches to qualify for the knockout stages at Denmark's expense thanks to goals from Laura Kalmari (6) and Heidi Kackur (16). Cathrine Paaske Sørensen pulled one back for Denmark just before half-time.
- Denmark's best ever EURO performance came in 2017, when they lost 4-2 in the final to hosts the Netherlands in Enschede despite taking an early lead through Nadia Nadim's sixth-minute penalty.
- Denmark's last-four triumph on penalties against Austria in 2017 was their first EURO semi-final success after five previous eliminations.
- The Danes have reached the semi-finals or better in the last two EURO tournaments having exited in the group stage in 2005 in England and 2009.
- Finland are competing at their fourth EURO and reached the semi-finals on debut but are yet to return to the last four.
- Finland will be hoping to replicate their performance the last time this competition was hosted on English soil, when they were beaten at the semi-final stage by eventual winners Germany in 2005. A last-eight defeat at the hands of England followed four years later, before they finished bottom of their group on their last appearance in 2013.
- Denmark picked up 28 points from their ten qualification matches to top Group B, scoring 48 goals – level with the Netherlands and Spain as joint top scorers – conceding only one. They dropped points only in their final qualifier, a goalless draw against section runners-up Italy in Viborg.
- Finland won seven of their eight qualifying fixtures as they clinched top spot in Group E. The 1-1 draw away to Portugal in November 2019, in which Sällström's 90th-minute equaliser rescued a point, was the only game in which they failed to pick up three points.
- Denmark's 4-0 Matchday 1 loss to Germany was their biggest defeat at the tournament since a 5-0 defeat by Norway in 1997; it was only the second time that the Danes had lost a EURO finals match by three goals or more.
- Denmark have not suffered successive group stage defeats since being beaten by Finland on Matchday 3 in 2005 and Matchday 1 in 2009.
- Sällström's goal against Spain was her first at EURO since scoring against England as a 21-year-old at the 2009 tournament; she is now both Finland's oldest and youngest scorer at the finals.
- Finland are winless in their last six EURO finals games (L4) since beating Denmark and the Netherlands in successive 2009 group stage fixtures.
- Finland have recorded just one victory in their eight EURO matches outside their own country (D3 L4) – the 2-1 win versus Denmark in 2005, the last time that the tournament was held in England.
Ones to watch: Denmark
Mille Gejl
- The 22-year-old scored after coming on as a substitute for her Denmark debut in the 1-0 friendly win against Finland in January 2019.
- The forward also struck on her first competitive Denmark appearance, an 8-0 EURO 2022 qualifying victory versus Malta in August 2019.
- Gejl scored in two of her three EURO 2022 qualifying outings, her other goal coming in a 2-0 win against Georgia.
- She has been largely utilised from the bench in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying campaign, but has still contributed three goals from her seven appearances.
Stine Larsen
- The 26-year-old scored twice in the 5-0 friendly home win against Finland in April 2017.
- The forward hit six goals in qualifying for EURO 2022, including her first hat-trick for the national side in a 14-0 victory against Georgia in November 2019.
- Larsen featured in all six matches as Denmark were runners-up at EURO 2017, spending the latter stages of the tournament playing in defence due to injuries.
- The attacker has scored seven times in the 2023 World Cup qualification campaign, with only Signe Bruun scoring more in Group E.
Sanne Troelsgaard
- The 33-year-old scored Denmark's second goal in their 5-0 defeat of Finland in a home friendly in April 2017.
- The midfielder made her senior international debut as a 73rd-minute substitute in a 1-0 friendly victory against Finland in March 2008.
- Troelsgaard played every minute as Denmark reached the final of EURO 2017, scoring in the 1-0 group stage win against Belgium in Doetinchem.
- EURO 2022 is her third UEFA European Championship, having also made a solitary appearance in Denmark's unsuccessful group stage campaign in 2009 in Finland.
Ones to watch: Finland
Tuija Hyyrynen
- The 34-year-old spent 2016/17 in Danish club football with Fortuna Hjørring, where she was a team-mate of Denmark's Luna Gevitz and Signe Bruun.
- The defender has been named in the squad for a third Women's EURO tournament, having also played at the 2009 and 2013 finals.
- Hyyrynen scored only her third goal at senior international level in a 1-1 draw against Slovakia in 2023 World Cup qualifying in Trnava on 8 April.
- The right-back, who made her Finland debut in September 2007, won her 100th cap in a friendly against Thailand in October 2018.
Sanni Franssi
- The 27-year-old had a two-year spell with Denmark's Fortuna Hjørring, where she won a league title and the Danish Women's Cup, before moving to Real Sociedad in 2020.
- The forward appeared in all eight of Finland's EURO 2022 qualifiers, scoring her only goal in the home win against Albania in October 2019.
- Franssi has featured in all of Finland's 2023 World Cup qualification campaign so far, starting five of their six fixtures.
- The attacker scored her first Finland goal in a 3-2 defeat against Portugal in EURO 2017 qualifying in September 2016.
Tinja-Riikka Korpela
- The 36-year-old played every minute of Finland's eight qualifiers for EURO 2022, conceding just two goals.
- Korpela won her 100th cap in the 3-0 World Cup qualifying win against Georgia in Tbilisi on 21 October, becoming the first keeper to reach that landmark for Finland.
- The goalkeeper is a four-time Finnish Player of the Year, winning the award in successive years between 2013 and 2017.
- She has spent the last three seasons playing in England in the Women's Super League, firstly for Everton before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in July 2021.