Right then, that’s us. Thanks so much for your company and comments; apologies I didn’t make it all the way through the Finland playlist. Enjoy today’s other games; ta-ra.
And here’s our match report.
Goodness me! Here’s some more football for you, and it’s a bigun!
“Mention of Russo-Finnish history below reminds me that the Russians certainly haven’t had it all their own way,” emails Russell Yong. “Resisting invaders (and obviously Russia) has been a great source of intrinsic pride to Finns. The Wiki page of Simo Häyhä, in particular, is well worth a read.
As for music, not strictly Finnish, but who could forget this classic? Plus it was used as a theme song for Finnish TV shows, so l think it counts!
That was a classic Sven affair: “first half good, second half not so good.” I don’t think either of these have it in them to win a knockout tie, but there’s a fair chance at least one of them gets a go. Finland are probably done getting points – I can’t see a way they take anything off Belgium – but Russia will fancy themselves against Denmark, who I daresay will fancy themselves against Russia.
Russia’s players including keeper Matvei Safonov (right) celebrate after the final whistle. Photograph: Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
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Full-time: Finland 0-1 Russia
Miranchuk’s brilliant goal is enough, and Russia are on the board. Group B is goiong to be a tight one.
90+6 min Arajuri goes up with Barinov and introduces forearm to face; it turns out that forearm is stronger than face, so Barinov goes to the side for treatment.
Updated
90+5 min Zhemaletdinov look sharp but lacks composure, and with Sobolev in front of him, greewn grass in front of that, he overhits his through-ball.
90+3 min Golovin has been Russia’s most dangerous attacker today, and he plays a clever square ball to Zhemaletdinov, who does well to let it run across him, at the same time opening a shooting angle and his right foot. But instead of keeping calm, he snatches at his effort, sending it wide of the far post.
90+3 min Obviously that’s easier said than done, but weight of numbers can sometimes be enough and they’ve not tried to see if that works.
90+2 min I’ve been disappointed with Finland today. They’ve played ok, but they’ve not properly gone for it in the second half, even though a goal pretty much keeps them here for the knockouts.
90+1 min There’ll be five added minutes.
90 min O’Shaughnessy charges Sobolev late, and is booked. He stays sown a while, then walks to the side and play resumes.
89 min The kick is a poor one but Russia can’t get it clear, so that when it’s nodded back in, Arajuuri is there ... but he can only head over the top! That wasn’t much of a chance, but it was the best Finland have manufactured in quite some time.
88 min Dzhkiya slides through Soiri and is booked but, more importantly, Finland have a free-kick out on the left, Lod to swerve in....
87 min Mukhin chips a diag towards the far post where Karavayev heads down ... and Zobnin shoots high.
87 min Dzhikiya wins another header. He’s been superb today.
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86 min “Not true at all that most teams in the Finnish league plays in white and blue,” informs Jonas Holmqvist. “Current champions Kups play in yellow and black, and so do Honka. IFK Mariehamn in green and white, and same for Kotka TP. Ilves play in yellow and green, HIFK in red and white, Inter in blue and black, Lahti all-black...
In short, quite the same variation as in most leagues, and very few teams actually play in white and blue.”
85 min A double change for Russia, Sobolev and the disgracefully young-looking Mukin replacing Dzyuba and Miranchuk.
85 min Finland send on Jensen, a striker, for Toivio, a defender.
83 min “I suspect this might be the shirt from the tournament that people remember for years to come,” Andy West says of of Finland’s rig. I do however, slightly wish the blue stripe continued down over the shorts in the 1970s Coventry style.”
Wasn’t that part of an ad for Talbot cars? This is the nearest I coold find in our system.
82 min Ah there. Toivio reckons he’s shepherding a ball into touch, so Dyuba laifs over and hammers him with a shoulder-charge. Eat mat, dude!
81 min Kamara sends wide to Soiri, but before his cross can reach Toivo, Dzhkiya humps it clear.
80 min Soiri knocks wide to Kauko, but his cross is directed directly at the first man. The second half has been a lot less fun than the first.
78 min “I humbly disagree with your assessment that Glen Kamara is playing really well,” says Anis Aslaam. “I think it’s the opposite. Remember that famous Tanguy Ndombele video vs Wolves that brought a chuckle to Mourinho? Kamara’s doing an exact carbon copy of that.”
Perhaps. I’m watching the game, my email, my fingers and my CMS, so I might be missing things. But I’m sure that if Finland got him on the ball more, they’d create more too.
77 min Pohjanpalo swings a leg across Dzhikiya shins, so there’s a break while he’s treated.
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76 min A double change for Finland: Raitala and Pukki go off, with Soiri and Lappalainen coming on.
74 min “Agreed that the Finland national kit is smart,” emails Charles Antaki, “but the colours are all too popular. The only game I attended in Helsinki was blue+white vs all-white, and looking it up later, it seems most teams in the Veikkausliiga favour the national colours, bar the memorable FC Honka, yellow+black.”
72 min Now here come Russia, Dzyuba stamping towards the box and, with Golovin’s run taking men away, he slips inside to Karaev. This is a chance! But after opening his body to make the angle for the shot, he curls his effort just wide.
71 min Raitala flies down the right and flings over a cross, but with Pohjanpalo poised to scissors-kick home an earth-shattering volley, Diveev heads away. Oh what might’ve been!
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69 min Dzhikiya’s been clutching his leg at various points in the game and diving in to try and block that shot might’ve finished him off. He goes down, accepts treatment ... but then goes off to come back on.
68 min And here he is, driving towards the box and forcing an angle for a shot from distance ... which he smashes high and wide as though doing so on purpose.
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67 min Change for Finland, Kauko on for Schuller, midfielder for midfielder.
66 min Dzyuba drops deep and finds Miranchuk, who slides a fine ball in behind for Zhemaletdinov. Is this his moment? No! He takes it slightly wide, then drags a shot slightly wide of the far ost.
65 min I wonder if it’s time for Finland to change things. They’re playing ok, but they’re not creating enough so perhaps can sacrifice a defender for an attacker.
64 min “Finnish music and no mention of The Rasmus – In The Shadows?” wonders Elliot Rawstone.
63 min But now they spring, Golovin finding Kazaev at inside-left, to cross for Dzyuba. It’s a goodun too, but Uronen does really well to get between man and ball, heading clear.
62 min Russia aren’t playing with the same intensity as before, brutally aware that they can’t afford to give up what they’ve got. Instead, they’re keeping the ball for as long as they can, switching it from side to side and trying to keep Finland moving
61 min Change for Russia, Zhemaletdinov replacing Ozdoev.
60 min Raitala finds Pukki with a clever reverse-pass down the right, sending him galumphing to the by-line. He cuts back to Pohjanpalo, but his shot is blocked at source.
58 min “Ice hockey fans in the States and Canada are well versed in the unique Finnish sports culture,” says Mary Waltz. “Finland has produced more goalies for the league per capita than Canada itself. Say Tukka in any bar in Boston and you will find a fan of Finland.”
Same rules apply in Australia.
56 min Finland are starting to exert a bit of pressure, and when Raitala finds Lod inside the Russia box, his low shmice is well blocked by Kuzaev.
55 min “My local commentary team is of the opinion that the refereeing and use of VAR (or lack thereof) has been very lax throughout the tournament,” emails Toon Helsen. “For one, the stamp on Kamara’s leg, or Rudiger’s chomp on Pogba. What do you think? Even though this match has already seen several yellows, I feel inclined to agree that there has been a surprising amount of laissez-faire so far. Of course, apart from THAT goal from Mbappe and the one in the first half of this match.”
I’d much prefer lax interpretation to hardline interpretation. I doubt there’s anything good behind it – no one with a financial interest in the competition wants the best players missing games – but I didn’t fall in love with football because its laws were well-kept, so I don’t really care when they’re not. Others might disagree, though.
53 min Nice from Finland, Kamara lending out the ball twice before it’s transferred to Pukki, who shifts it one then whacks a low shot that’s straight at Safonov.
Updated
52 min Golovin looks really sharp today, and he sways away from Schuller, just outside the box, before swivelling into a drill, the ball flashing just wide of the near post.
52 min “All the Finnish music you’re putting up reminds me of my teenage crush on a Finnish girl,” weeps Michael Kemp. “I started learning Finnish and listening to Finnish music to impress her. 15 years later I can still count and say random animals. Here’s a teenage crush song for you.”
50 min “Just saw you posted the Bomfunk video,” writes Jose Jimenez. “Here’s the same song in a metro but with some nice dance moves.”
49 min Lod strides through midfield – where did all that space come from?! – and slides Pukki away through the middle! But he’s not got the pace to get away – perhaps he should try the Cavani lob – but instead he looks to shuck off Diveev, who slides in to make another superb tackle.
47 min A long diag is caught on chest and burst by Kuzaev, but the ball runs away from him before he can cross. That was good football though, and I really like the way Russia are approaching this game.
46 min “Yup. Stupid stadiums with stupid huge spaces between the pitches and the stands,” says Matt Dony. “Always entertaining watching defenders in the London Stadium making desperate clearances, absolutely smashing the ball into Row C.”
I watched an end of season game there once between West Ham and Man United - I think it was when the latter had the Europa League final coming up so were even less inclined towards anything than was usual under Mourinho. It was 0-0, but standing in the away end, I came away with not one recollection of what I’d (not) seen.
46 min We go again...
Half-time email: “When I moved to Finland,” says Arun Narayanan, “I was astonished to find that there was a European country that was yet to play the World Cup even once. Even more shocking was that Finland had never even qualified for the Euros. Somehow it added to the quirkiness of a country already so quirky with its strange language, competitions like wife carrying and phone throwing, and obsession with saunas. Now, finally, they have done it, laying that ghost to rest once and for all.”
And they’re not finished either. I daresay both of these sides, along with Denmark, will have a chance of joining Belgium in the last 16 when we begin the final round of games.
Half-time entertainment: Simply scroll down for our Finnish playlist!
Half-time: Russia 1-0 Finland
That was a really enjoyable half. We’ll be back shortly for the second.
45+6 min “Ah yes,” tweets Olivier, “another victim of the athletics/football multipurpose stadium. To be fair, La Cartuja was built for the world championships in athletics and isn’t used by a club team, so it’s not *too* bad.”
No, agreed – but what is it doing in this competition?
45+6 min Credit to Russia, they needed to win this and they’ve set about so doing in the proper manner.
45+4 min Here come Russia again, Karaev sending in a cross from the right that Dzyuba can only head over the bar.
LOVELY GOAL! Finland 0-1 Russia (Miranchuk 45+2)
Miranchuk flits towards the box and bumps into Dzyuba, who knocks off to him as he moves into the box. Even so, there looks nothing on – the defenders are shutting off his shooting lanes – but one deft touch with the outside of his left foot – think Ruud van Nistelrooy v Fulham – opens the angle for him to feed a glorious rising, curling finish into high into the far top corner.
Updated
45+1 min Golovin is by far the best player on the pitch and he drills a cross towards Dzyuba at the back post. For a moment, it looks like he’s got a run on O’Shaughnessy, but the defender does just enough to force his to head inside, where no one lurks.
45+1 min There’ll be six additional minutes, most of them down to Mario Fernandes’ injury.
45 min Finland will be delighted with how this has gone. They’ve been under the pump, but not excessively so and when they’ve had the chance to counter, have looked a threat.
43 min Ozdoev can’t see w ay through so takes the scenic route around the outside before clipping back for Golovin, just outside the box. He shapes to shoot then scoots around Lod, but Schuller is quickly on the scene to smother the effort when it eventually arrives.
42 min “Even though it has nothing to do with Russia,” emails Marcus Svensson, “how can we forget one of the greatest songs ever to come from a Finish DJ. It does, however, feature a metro so there is some link to the previous song you posted. What I’d do to take the next month off and sit at a pub and watch every game of these Euros!”
Consider us your local. I’m the bloke sat on his bill who won’t shut up.
39 min Back to the ground, the Krestovsky Stadium looks one of the better new ones, on which point: why do they keep building them with huge semi-circular empty space behind the goals and huge empty areas between touchline and stand? Sevilla’s Stadium La Cartuja is particularly rubbish in this aspect but it’s far from the only culprit.
37 min WHAT A CHALLENGE BY URONEN! Again, Russia incur down the left and Kuzaev measures a tremendous low cross to the far post. But Uronen slides in to make an absolutely monstrous tackle, taking the ball away from Zobnin, who clatters the post, bounces off it, and catches the defender punkt in the coupon. Both players need treatment but both are fine, and the resultant corner comes to nothing.
36 min Again, Golovin makes space to cross, slinging over an outswinger that Ozdoev can only head wide.
35 min Finland win a throw and O’Shaughnessy trots forward to take it, hurling a long one directly into Safonov’s arms before trotting back again.
35 min Kamara is playing really well – Finland need to get him on the ball so he can drive towards the Russia box.
34 min Excellent from Kamara, turning in centrefield and accelerating around and away from Ozdoev, who slides in to upend him in playground style. Ozdoev is booked.
32 min “Hold everything,” says Huw Thomas. “Here is the greatest Finnish tune about a Russian City - Eleanoora Rosenholm with Moskova Métro.”
I can see this page is remaining in my tabs for at least a few weeks.
30 min Which they do, Ozdoev winning a corner off Uronen; Diveev can’t force his header at goal.
30 min Golovin sends another cross into Dzyuba and though he can’t head for goal, Ozdoev hooks the loose ball back into the middle. But this time, the challenge from O’Shaughnessy stops Dzyuba directing his header towards goal and Russia must build again.
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29 min “Living in Sweden, most of the locals tend to support Finland/other Nordic countries, but that’s not necessarily reciprocal when Sweden play,” says Julian Menz. “It’s similar to the English-Scottish/Welsh/Irish dynamic. Anyway, despite it being dissed on the Guardian’s ”Best Kits” article, I think the Finnish kit is top! I don’t speak Finnish, but Heja Suomi!”
Suomi was my favourite language to change people’s phone to in the early days of Nokia (4-2-2 was, I believe the code to change it back).
27 min Barinov is booked for pulling Kamara’s shirt and halting a counter. This time, he’s booked, and the ref’s gesture tells us he saw the first infraction too. I wonder if they’ve been told to go easy on the card because that definitely merited one, yet I’m glad it wasn’t shown. The standard so far, of on-pitch stuff and VAR, has been excellent.
26 min Poor old Mario Fernandes is stretchered off, with Karaev replacing him.
23 min Unsurprisingly, Golovin is looking Russia’s likeliest source of danger and after taking a pass from Dzyuba, he checks inside to clip a right-footed cross towards Fernandes ... who can’t get his head on it, instead falling backwards after being challenged in mid-air. Dzyuba can’t catch up with the ball and this doesn’t look good; Fernandes is in bad nick, and he’ll be off once they’ve treated him properly.
Updated
22 min Kamara, who earlier attacked Barinov studs with his ankle, is late on someone – Zobnin I think – and is booked.
Updated
21 min But now here come Finaldn, Lod slipping Pohjanpalo in through the middle! He’s looking exceedingly sharp and sets off towards goal ... but not for long, because Diveev slides in to register a crucial tackle. The resultant corner comes to nothing.
20 min It’s Russia making most of the play and Golovin flight a fine cross to the back stick, where Mario Fernandes can’t quite time his leap.
17 min “Delighted to see Jori Hulkkonen in an MBM!” emails Simon Staffans. Here’s a couple of other tunes to keep the ear occupied at half-time:
A not to shabby effort from the latest reincarnation of the Moomins:
Darude counting down to Finland celebrating 100 years as an independent nation:
And offside, eh? Who the hell came up with that concept.”
A total nonsense, but whatevz – Sandstorm’s on! it blows my mind that Kyren Wilson, the snooker player, can come on to that but not turn on his heel and go straight to the kluhhrrb.
16 min All this talk of Aleksei Miranchuk has me thinking back to Aleksey Mikhailichenko, one of the best players at Euro 88 and later Rangers legend.
15 min This is a terrific match so far. Just a second ago, Pukki found Pohjanpalo inside the Russian box, but immediately a phalanx of defenders surrounded him. He diddled Kuzyaev, dipping inside, but 74 others then blocked his route to goal.
13 min Here come Russia again, Miranchuk nudging another decent ball into the box, this time for Dzyuba. He cleverly adjust feet and body before stubbing an early shot against the near post! But he’d strayed offside so the flag goes up.
11 min Barinov autographs Kamara’s ankle, but escapes a card because the ref misses it.
10 min Miranchuk wins the ball and feeds it wide to Golovin, who sticks in into the box where Miranchuk takes over again. Espying Ozdoev outside him, he rolls him in and this should be 1-0 ... but Ozdoev snatches at it, leaning back and skying a miserable finish (if you’ll excuse the pun).
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9 min “Bit obvious maybe,” begins Robin Hazlehurst, “but if you’re after Russo-Finnish music, how about (one of) Finland’s most famous band(s) singing about the city where this match is happening? The Leningrad Cowboys, Leningrad.
8 min Kazaev has a go at Raitala, looking to boust by on the outside. But Raitala is hard and fast, effortlessly introducing him to the turf while confiscating the ball.
8 min Russia are playing three at the back, rather than the four advertised by Uefa. Can you not trust anyone anymore?
6 min This is a really good game so far, full of tempo, intensity and desperation. Lovely.
4 min That’s got to be the best disallowed goal since ... Mbappe’s last night.
NOT WHAT A GOAL! Russia 0-0 Finland
Pohjanpalo was fractionally offside when the cross was released! That is a very fortunate escape for Russia, and a horrific deletion of a total buzz of a goal. But the law is the law.
WHAT A GOAL! Russia 0-1 Finland (Pohjanpalo 2)
Bottom, north, whatever! Russia try to play out and Raitala robs Kuzaev before slinging in a tremendous cross. But there’s still plenty of work to do, Pohjanpalo flinging himself, his forefathers and every Finn that’s ever been into a diving header that punishes the ball into the far corner.
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2 min “Anyone else also quietly admire the Finland home shirt?” asks Ezra Finkelstein. They’ve done a decent job incorporating the flag, it’s got to be said.
2 min He goes near post, where no attackers lurk, and the first man heads clear.
1 min Immediately, Golovin nashes down the left, but Toivio is there to stop him before Russia win a free-kick on the other side, Golovin moseying over to take it...
1 min Away we go!
The Pohjanpalo wars continue: Matti Hautsal emails to inform us that “Pohja means both bottom and North in Finnish.”
Excellent stuff.
The ground belt out the Russian ditty, and what an absolute Nicky Banger is it.
Updated
There is little in this world that brings me greater joy than footballers singing anthems tunelessly, and I’m delighted to announce that Finland have added a fine effort to the canon.
“The reaction in Finland was muted after the Denmark match,” emails Kari Tulinius, our resident Finland-dweller. “I took my six year-old to football practice on the day after. One of the other dads was trying to get the kids excited about the fact Finland had won its first ever game at a major tournament, but the kids just talked about Eriksen.”
Kids know.
Updated
And here they come!
The players are tunnelling...
“Another Finnish tune for you,” emails Tony Bartholomew. “Some lovely disco house from Rovaniemi.”
Oooh yeah.
“Lots of interesting thoughts on the game today,” says Joe Connolly, an Irishman in Helsinki. “Shout out for Daniel O Shaughnessy, Irish-Finnish player starting today in defence. Dad from Galway.”
Oh Helsi.
“Message to Bob O’Hara,” says Bill Yates. “Sorry mate but you’ve had a stinker there. Pohja is bottom, Pohjola is north. Although Ballbottom actually works much better.”
Below is me, out of my element.
“Now we know where all the UFO sightings come from,” says Andrew Benton. “That stadium is a total spaceship. But will it lead Finland to an otherworldly victory? I’ll take a quick trip along the space-time continuum and let you know....”
And the venue for next season’s Champions League final – what a trip that’ll be for whoever is lucky enough to see their team in it.
Tim Sparv has told BBC that the Finland dressing room was a muted place after the Denmark game, and that “football was not the most important thing that day”. He also says that his team can play a lot better than they did, especially going forward, and hopes to see that against Russia. Reminder: he’ll literally be seeing it – or not – because he’s been dropped.
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Here’s today’s Fiver, on Pogba, Rüdiger, Löw, and the restorative powers of ambivalence.
History corner: Bob O’Hara tweets to note that “There’s a bit of a history between Finland and Russia (including the invention of the Molotov cocktail). Last time it ended up with the Germans burning swathes of Lapland,” while Charles Antaki emails as follows: “Like any international competition, there’s a geopolitical story could be told about just about any match-up – we’ve already seen the tetchy Pandev business – but when Finland v Russia rolls around (usually in ice-hockey) my Finnish friends roll their eyes and keep schtum. A 1000-mile border with several hundred tanks on the other side will do that.”
Europe, eh. What a place.
“When you mentioned Germany,” says Admir Pajiæ, “they have this striker issue at European Championship. At Euro 2016, Müller did to Özil what Giroud had been doing to him at Arsenal – spurning a chance after a chance. Müller, for some reason, keeps his scoring boots for World Cup only, while he is yet to score at the Euros (this is his third tournament). Miroslav Klose’s retirement left a huge hole in the attack and it may surprise you that I don’t see Werner cutting the mustard. In fact, the last No. 9 who did well for them at the international tournament was Gonzalo Higuain in 2014.”
Ha! They also lack a bit speed in midfield, as Arsène Wenger might say, and at the back. Against a good team, I don’t think they can play that much better than they did last night, so their finishing will have to be on point if and when the time comes.
“I wish Pohjanpalo would add an l to his name to become Pohjanpallo, to be best translated as Ball of the North,” says Bob O’Hara. “Oh, and on the music front...”
It’s come to my attention that my email was sending you to Rob Smyth; that’s now fixed, but for those of you alienated from your F5, you can get me on daniel.harris.casual@theguardian.com
And here’s the skinny on the Finland squad.
Finland, meanwhile, make one alteration – in the middle of midfield where Schuller replaces Sparv. This is a significant change because Sparv is a big player for the team and its captain, but according to Uefa’s site, the manager called it a “tactical decision”.
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Find out more about Russia here:
Ch-ch-changes: Russia bring in a new keeper, Safonov replacing Shunin, while at the back, Semyonov drops out with Diveev coming in, and Kuzyaev moves from left-wing to left-back, Zhirkov dropping out. Meanwhile, on the right wing, Aleksei Miranchuk gets a start.
While I write those down, get a load of this.
#OnThisDay 1980: Tomorrow's World made its first foray into the world of football video games. pic.twitter.com/wDH3jwl6PR
— BBC Archive (@BBCArchive) June 12, 2021
Teams!
Finland (a sweaty 3-2-3-2): Hradecky; Toivio, Arajuuri, O’Shaughnessy; Schuller, Kamara; Raitala, Lod, Uronen; Pukki, Pohjanpalo. Subs: Joronen, Jaakola, Vaisanen, Jensen, Soiri, Sparv, Alho, Kauko, Lappalainen, Valakari, Ivanov, Forss.
Russia (a regimented 4-3-3): Safonov; Mario Fernandes, Diveev, Dzhikiya, Kuzyaev; Zobnin, Barinov, Ozdoev; Aleksei Miranchuk, Dzyuba, Golovin. Subs: Shunin, Dyupin, Karavaev, Semenov, Cheryshev, Sobolev, Zabolotny, Zhemaletdinov, Fomin, Evgenyev, Makarov, Mukhin.
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“Let’s face it,” tweets Paul Roche. “We don’t know much about Finland as a country, but here’s a tune you’ll recognise.”
“There’s also this Finnish YouTuber & his wife who has a Hydraulic Press Channel. Hours of fun.”
Well here’s a tune from me.
So how are we all feeling having seen all of the teams play now? Now that you don’t ask, these are my thoughts: Italy are good enough to beat all of the teams with better players than them, but probably not three of them in a row, which might well be necessary, and the same applies to Germany; Belgium are settled enough to monster teams less good than them, but they lack the speed of their rivals and their defence will probably cost them in the end; France have several more gears to engage, especially if sent out to attack, and if they play well the rest are struggling; Portugal and England look to have the best chance of hurting them, but you’d not bet on either; and be ready for teams to improve and deteriorate through the competition.
Email! Richard Adams, the Guardian’s education editor, gets in touch as follows: “I’ve done a thread on the educational background of the England team – 21 out of 26 were state schooled all the way, and four others had a mix of state and independent. I can find only one player who spent all his secondary school years at private school: Phil Foden, paid for by Man City. Compare that to cricket and rugby...”
I think Patrick Bamford and Matt Jansen might’ve gone to private schools too, but I can’t be sure because no one ever mentions it.
Unlike rugby and cricket, England’s national football teams are dominated by state school pupils: 21 out of 26 players at Euro 2020. Those who did attend private schools were often sponsored by their clubs.
— Richard Adams (@RichardA) June 16, 2021
Of course, with all due respect to the divine Enzo Francescoli, Uruguay’s 86 edition were mainly famous for choosing violence. Here’s the quickest red card in World Cup history:
And here’s the late Ian St John venting his displeasure at Scotland’s performance.
So these groups, then. The 1986 World Cup featured a 24-team format in which 36 first-round games are played, in order to eliminate just eight competitors. Both Uruguay and Bulgaria made it to the last 16 with two points but Hungary did not, while the other lucky losers qualified with a win and a draw. In 1990, meanwhile, a win was necessary, and in 1994 a win and a draw.
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Preamble
I hope this preamble finds everyone well. We had one entire day with no early afternoon kick-off – absolute shambles, total dizgraze – but we got through it, and here we are back where we deserve to be. It’s not such a bad old life.
And we come back to something pretty decent too: the start of, er, matchday two, and a Karelian local derby with huge ramifications for both nations involved. The ins and outs of the Finland situation have already been discussed at length, so we can note their toughness in beating Denmark despite it all and wonder how they might cope now they have something to lose: a point today and they’re in good shape for the knockouts; a win and they’re there. That’s a lot to process for players with no tournament experience, but also the opportunity of their lives; seeing how they respond to it is a privilege of watching sport.
Russia, meanwhile, were swatted aside by Belgium at the weekend – but they are not alone in that regard. The success of their tournament will, more or less be measured by how they perform today: a win gives them a decent chance of hanging around for the knockouts, and anything else gives them a problem.
Kick-off: 2pm BST
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