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'Norway friendly suits us perfectly,' says Finland boss Jacob Friis

Finland will play friendlies with Norway and Andorra in 2025
Finland will play friendlies with Norway and Andorra in 2025PAUL FAITH / AFP
New Finland national team head coach Jacob Friis is excited by the announcement of friendlies for his side against Norway and Andorra later in the year, supplementing the team's 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

The Eagle Owls will travel to Oslo to face neighbours Norway on Thursday, September 4th at Ullevaal Stadion.

Andorra will travel to Finland for a match on Monday, November 17, with the venue to be confirmed in due course.

Finland have two World Cup qualifiers in each of the March, June and October international windows, plus one in both the September and November windows.

Thus, these friendlies complete the 2025 fixture list for head coach Friis, who took charge last month.

"Norway suits us perfectly. It is a good preparation match before facing Poland. Norway has a tough team and excellent individuals. The game serves us well and I am looking forward to it." Friis told Suomen Palloliitto, the Football Association of Finland.

Following the Norway game, Finland travel to Poland three days later for what will likely be a crucial World Cup qualifier. 

The meeting in Oslo will be the 64th between the Nordic nations, with the most recent ending in a 1-1 draw in 2022.

Finland are without a win against The Lions in their last four and have only beaten them on nine occasions. Their most recent win on Norwegian soil was a 2-1 success in 1974.

As for the meeting with Andorra, Friis added, "It is great to end the year at home in front of our fans."

The Finns have only met Andorra twice - both meetings were in qualification for the 2006 World Cup. Finland won the home fixture 3-0, but came away from Andorra La Vella with a hugely disappointing 0-0 draw.

Friis out to improve on poor 2024

The task facing Danish coach Friis is a tough one, with him taking over a team that lost all six of its matches in the UEFA Nations League under outgoing coach Markku Kanerva.

Finland are also without a win in eight games, last picking up a win in March of last year, against Estonia.

His impact must be instant if Finland are going to qualify for a maiden World Cup and just a second major tournament in their history.

Maximum points will be the objective in March, when they begin their Group G campaign with trips to Malta and Lithuania, before welcoming Poland and either Spain or the Netherlands in June.

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