At the turn of last year, Finland finished fifth in the under-20 World Championships.
Jani Nyman of Ilves is one of the most important men of the Young Lions in the World Championships. TOMI NATRI / AOP
The opening game against Canada, which will be played on Boxing Day at 3:30 p.m., sets the tone for the entire Finnish World Cup tournament.
With a win, Nuoret Leijonat would gain enormously more self-confidence.
After a loss, building the team’s faith would be laborious.
– Personally, I’m more interested in how the game looks regardless of the result, Ismo Lehkonen, who analyzes the games on the spot for TV5, thinks.
Would a loss in the opening game be a disaster for Finland?
– Would not be. The feeling that players get from the opening game is the most important. If the players feel that they can manage, then good.
– If the cherry on top of the cake is a win, it will give the players and the coaching a good boost. Big is the opponent.
Canada is the champion of the last two tournaments. The country has won four of the last six championships.
– If the opening game is hesitation, then it will be difficult. If we’re in trouble and there are a lot of question marks, it’s a tough job for coaching, Lehkonen continues.
“I’m not worried”
Ismo Lehkonen follows the WC tournament on site in Gothenburg. TIMO KUNNARI
Finland’s goalkeeper situation is basically good again. The goalkeepers are Eemil Vinni, (HIFK), Niklas Kokko (Kärpät) and Noa Vali (TPS).
– There is no need to worry about this department. These boys have got good experience all around.
The defense of the young Lions makes Lehko a little suspicious.
– There isn’t really a team that has played big minutes in the League.
– It will be interesting to see how the Finnish pack, which gets big minutes at the World Cup, can handle them. How will the pack be able to support the attack throughout the tournament, Lehkonen ponders.
Only winning is played
This is how the World Cup tournament for under-20s ended last January and the year before. Canada celebrated the championship. Finland wants to break Canada’s championship streak. PDO
Finland has enough material for an attack.
– Every field has enough players who have gotten big minutes in the League.
Jani Nyman has already scored 14 goals in the league and is second in the goal exchange. The Ilves striker scored twice in the last training game against the Czech Republic.
– I hope everyone in the team understands that this is not a points exchange competition, but a team competition where you only play for victory, Lehkonen thinks.
– In other countries, there are quite a lot of stock market winner candidates.
The last time a Finnish player was chosen as the tournament’s most valuable player was in 2016. At that time Jesse Puljujärvi got the honor.
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Finnish program
26.12. Finland-Canada
27.12. Finland-Germany
29.12. Latvia-Finland
31.12. Swedish-Finland
All games in the Finnish preliminary series start at 3:30 p.m.
The playoffs start on January 2 and the final will be played in Gothenburg on January 5.
TV5 televised the tournament.
Special situations
The format of the tournament is the same every year. The teams that can improve their game the most are strong.
The World Cup final will be played on January 5 in Gothenburg.
– Playing in special situations plays a big role once again. Hopefully the over and under forces have been sorted out.
– Hopefully this time too, Finland will have a group that is strong at the start, Lehkonen hopes.