Teemu Pukki scored 43 goals in the A national team. There have been several moments worth three lions along the career. Iltalehti listed the most memorable of them.
26/05/2012: Turkey
That’s where it all started. Roman Eremenko found Teemu Pukin from empty space. The long-haired piglet went crazy when Pukki took a few steps with a sharp spurt with the ball and shot from about 20 meters. The ball bounced off the feet of the Turkish players in a nice arc and into the net. It was a 2-2 equalizer.
Pukki rushed towards the corner flag and did his so many times seen jumping fan in honor of his first A national team goal. Finland won the practice match 3–2 – it was a tough scalp.
22/03/2013: Spain
An all-time hit, the wonder of Gijón.
The fifth hit of Puki’s Huuhkajat career came about in a way that went down in the history books of Finnish football. Finland stretched to a sensational 1–1 draw against the best national team of its time in the World Cup qualifiers, even away from home. Spain’s shape was broken with a couple of vertical passes. Alexander Ring got to the middle lane with the ball, and the precise cross reached Puki’s foot.
The buck only needed one touch. With it, he passed the goalkeeper by Victor Valdés.
– El Molinón was already filled to the brim during the training sessions the day before the match, but after Puki’s hit, almost 30,000 people sat in silence, looking at each other in disbelief. I have never experienced anything so eerie. Mixu Paatelainen the little jacket was a couple of sizes too small, but he fanned so violently that the seams must have torn, Iltalehten, who was present Janne Palomäki remembers the moment.
Teemu Pukki silenced El Molinón in a memorable way. Jussi Eskola
6/10/2016: Iceland
– The burden fell off the shoulders, Iltalehten Ilkka Laitinen wrote in his perspective text about Puki’s 1–0 hit.
A precise header put Finland in the lead in Iceland. It broke Puki’s goalless streak of more than two years in the Huuhkajat shirt. When looking at Puki’s career, it’s good to remember that there have been bumps along the way, even deep potholes.
Hans Backen the era remained pitch black, as did the Iceland game, which Finland lost 2–3. After that, Pukki and Finland rose to a new glory.
A header into Iceland’s net ended Puki’s long goalless streak in the national team. Jussi Eskola
8 June 2019: Bosnia and Herzegovina
The sky tore over Ratina. Pukki completed two sensational goals in the second half and led the Huuhkajas to a 2–0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the home opener of the EC qualifiers.
Markku Kanervan the head coach’s time had already started in the Nations League, where Finland sought victories under Puki’s leadership. Bosnia’s home win eventually became one of the most significant games of the EC project that ended in the final tournament.
Pukki drug took over the whole of Finland by now at the latest.
Completely unstoppable Teemu Pukki destroyed the defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina. PDO
15/11/2019: Liechtenstein
A day that no football fan in Finland will forget. Finland needed a win over Liechtenstein on Töölö’s artificial turf to secure a historic European Championship spot.
Jasse Tuominen started the party. The 63rd minute was over, Pukki shot the ball into the goal and gave Finland a 2–0 lead. In the 73rd minute, he completed the second, 3–0. In that moment, dreams came true. Everyone knew that the Huhkajat would not waste this again.
Pukki-mania was at its peak, and he was the team’s most popular star at the national festival.
November 15, 2019 was a historic day in Finnish football. Matti Raivio / AOP
12/10/2021: Kazakhstan
It was known to happen soon. However, Pukki decided to make football history during one 90 minutes.
Pukki gave Huuhkajat a 1–0 lead in the World Cup qualifying match in Kazakhstan. First a soft takeover in the pits and then the finish. The 32nd national team goal of his career lifted Puk Jari Litmanen alongside in the all-time scoring statistics.
Just a moment later, the network swayed again. Urho Nissilän The long shot fell off the hands of the Kazakh keeper, and Pukki was there. The 33rd finish saw the light of day, and Litmanen was passed.
Thank you, Teemu Pukki. Pirjo Tuominen / EPA / AOP