The Finnish national football team for girls under the age of 17 started their race against France.
Illustration. JAAKKO STENROOS / AOP
The Finnish national under-17 national football team suffered a 0–2 loss in the opening match of the European Championships against France.
France took the lead 1-0 towards the end of the opening period when Shana Chossenotte succeeded in scoring. France increased their lead to two goals in the 72nd minute when Lucie Calba managed to pass the ball past Finland’s goalkeeper Ellan Arpiaisen.
Head coach of Finland Marko Saloranta was proud of his players despite the loss.
– France is a very tough team at the individual level. The second period had difficulty getting between their midfield and line of defense. We knew the line of defense was their challenge and it showed up in that match too, we got a few places, Saloranta said in a Twitter video from Helmare.
– As a whole, a relatively fair result, he continued.
Finland will still face Spain and Norway in the first round of the European Championships. The Spanish match will be played on Friday, while Norway will face off on Monday. The European Championships will be played in Bosnia and Herzegovina.