Finland vs Northern Ireland prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-11-16 17:00.
After an incredibly promising start to their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying campaign – winning four of their first five matches – Finland seemed destined to back up their only appearance at a major tournament at Euro 2020 by booking their ticket to Germany next year. Since then however, they’ve gone on to lose their subsequent three Group H games to miss out on a top-two spot, although they will get another crack at qualifying via the play-offs due to their UEFA Nations League exploits.
The manner in which their hopes of automatically qualifying diminished will sting the most, as either side of a 3-0 loss in Slovenia were 2-1 and 1-0 home defeats to Kazakhstan and Denmark respectively, where both times the decisive goal was conceded after the 85th minute. Lata drama has recently been a staple for the Eagle-owls, who have seen ten goals scored past the 75th minute in as many matches.
Upcoming opponents Northern Ireland saw their Euro 2024 dreams extinguished during the October international window and have accumulated half the number of victories compared to their hosts. Michael O'Neill’s men won both their group games against minnows San Marino as expected, and could’ve been a dark horse had their attack been more potent throughout qualifying, as five of their six defeats to date have agonisingly been 1-0.
The Green and White Army’s failure to reach Germany means their famous last-16 run at Euro 2016 remains their only major tournament appearance since the 1986 FIFA World Cup. This match may be inconsequential, but a Northern Ireland win would see them claim a first away victory against a side ranked higher than them (at the time of the game) in FIFA’s rankings since October 2014 – going on to lose 13 of 17 such games since, including all of the last nine in that streak.
Players to watch: Joel Pohjanpalo could be Finland’s dangerman, since his last four international goals have all come at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. As for Northern Ireland, they won’t be losing faith as long as Josh Magennis is on the field, with eight of his 11 goals for his country having come in the 70th minute or later.
Hot stat: Only two of the ten H2Hs between these nations have ended in a draw.