And here’s our match report; now it really is goodbye. Goodbye!
Otherwise, though, it’s ta-ra from me. Peace out.
Righto, that’s us for now. Except it isn’t really, because all you actually need to do is click here to find Germany v Spain, along with Rob Smyth, there to glory your evening.
As for Denmark, they’ll have to play a lot better than that to get something against Spain. Where there’s Harder there’s hope, but based on what we’ve seen so far, that looks a forlorn one.
Finland, you’ve to assume, will wonder if they might’ve done more. They had nothing going forward and even after Denmark looked blunt in the first half, rather than seek a win, they stuck another player in defence and still conceded chances.
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Full-time: Denmark 1-0 Finland
Christensen lets it all out at the whistle and it’s she to whom her mates run, not their goalscoring captain. that tells you all you need to know, and Denmark are still in the competition, while Finland are almost home.
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90+4 min ...and Christensen comes to gather! She has saved her team!
90+3 min Lene Christensen! Ninety-three minutes of staring, then Danielsson skips away from Holmgaard, who wails in fear, unleashes a banger of a shot ... and Christensen tips it behind! That’s a brilliant save, but her comes the corner...
90+1 min And if Finland are still losing at the end of them, a draw in the Germany v Spain game which comes next will put them out.
90 min There’ll be four added minutes.
90 min Last try for Finland: Westerlund is replaced by Danielsson.
88 min So far, Denmark have seen this out well – though Finland haven’t tested them much, even to the extent of smashing it mixer.
86 min Boye replaces Harder, now sat at the side with a hunk of ice on her phizog.
85 min Eeesh! Harder is bodied by Kolvisto competing for a header, and after receiving treatment on the park, she’s escorted off looking woozy.
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84 min Finland win a free-kick just left of centre and Franssi floats a decent delivery into the box ... and Kuikka, in the middle of a phalanx of defenders, is up! She gets the touch too, but it’s no more than a flick and sails behind.
82 min Finland have barely had the ball since conceding but they move forward now with Ahtinen, who slices a shot wide and plenty.
80 min Nice from Larsen, who battles down the right and finds the recently-impressive Johnsen, who curves in a low cross first-time ... but Westerlund gets it away.
78 min Finland send on Ahtinen for Sallstrom.
76 min Sevecke slides in on Summanen, feathers the top of the ball almost inadvertently then ploughs through her opponent ... and somehow evades a second yellow card. I don’t especially object to challenges like that being punished with a free-kick and nothing more, but I don’t see how the laws allow such thing.
75 min In the Germany game, Harder didn’t manage a touch in the opposition box. Against admittedly lesser opposition, she’s been much better today, and I’d expect her to sustain that improvement for the Spain game because she’s too good not to. However, her teammates will have to do more to find her.
74 min With the deadlock now broken, I’d not be surprised to see Denmark add another goal or two.
GOAL! Denmark 1-0 Finland (Harder 72)
One hundred and sixty-two minutes and out! Harder wins the ball high up the pitch as Finland see to bring it cleat and another decent cross from right-wing to back post, Johnsen with it again, sees Larsen up! But Holmgaard finds redemption by leaping all over her, banging a header onto the bar with enough force so that it bounces out in the middle and straight to Harder ... who adjusts well by retreating quickly, sorting out her feet to nod home from three yards.
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71 min Denmark have improved in the last few minutes – perhaps the changes are working, perhaps Finland are tiring, perhaps both – but I’m a little surprised they’ve retained the formation that is now 161 minutes without a goal.
69 min Korpela! Harder controls beautifully and beats two players, one for skill by dipping inside, and one for pace by screeching away. Then, having moved from left to centre, she releases a glorious pass into the stride of Holmgaard! She’s in! But she hangs onto the ball for too long her final touch is too heavy, and the Spurs keeper times her advance perfectly yet again, smothering the shot at source!
66 min Sevecke loses possession to Oling, tugs her back for a while, and is eventually booked.
65 min Johnsen speeds down the right and stands up a superb cross to the far post, where Kolvisto does really well to get up above Svava.
64 min Two more changes for Denmark, Holmgaard K and Larsen replacing Bruun and Troelsgaard.
62 min Decent from Denmark, Svava finding Harder who picks across the face of the box before finding Troelsgaard, on the right of the box. It’s a decent shooting opportunity ... that she slices so badly it finds Svava again! She nips inside Kolvisto, sending her off towards M&S, sets back for Junge who shapes to curl into the far corner ... and tickles a shank that floats wide.
60 min Oling zones forward with the ball, has a look, has a shot, and Christensen saves easily enough.
59 min “It’s tempting to attribute those misplaced final balls to nerves,” posits Charles Antaki, “after all only three points would be any use in maintaining what is anyway a pretty slim chance of either of these two progressing from the group. So any chance must feel like a final chance, and any attempt must feel like the only attempt. End of saloon-bar pontification.”
That is possible, though I wonder if they’re able to think about that in the moment. My guess is that over-eagerness is also involves, though in its way that’s the other side of the same coin.
58 min Svava is into the action immediately, nashing down the left and crossing with Hrder loitering, but Westerlund is there first.
56 min A double change for Denmark: off go Nadim, who must be knackered, with Bredgard coming on, along with Thrige, who must be naused, with Svava coming on.
54 min Ballisager challenges Kolvisto on inside the box and Kolvisto collapses. There’s a penalty appeal, but nothing doing and rightly so.
53 min Thrige, Denmarks’ most dangerous player when on the right but now on the left, tries a cross that hits Kolvisto’s hand, but there was no intent.
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51 min I wonder if Denmark might try Harder down the middle at some point, either alone, or with a partner. She’s too much better than her teammates to be hoping the ball appears on her side.
50 min A better cross from Thomsen and this time Korpela spills it ... but quickly recovers to fall on the ball.
49 min Again the ball goes out Thomsen, and again the cross is a miserable one, flying behind.
48 min Finland have moved to a back five, which I guess denies Denmark space and perhaps allows them to attack space on the counter.
47 min Excellent from Harder off the bat, diddling Pikkuajamsa on the outside and squaring for Nadim ... but again, her finishing is hampered by rust as she tries to sweep towards the far corner, ballooning away from goal in the opposite direction. Best chance of the match so far – and by far.
46 min We go again, no changes to either side.
During half-time, BBC screened VT highlighting the lack of diversity in women’s football in England. Hopefully this tournament does something to improve things, but ultimately we need funding from government and the wider game too.
Noooooo!
Vivianne Miedema is helaas positief getest op COVID-19 en gaat daarom de komende dagen in isolatie. Wanneer zij geen symptomen meer heeft en negatief test, kan zij weer aansluiten bij de selectie. pic.twitter.com/6on9g4ZfU1
— OranjeLeeuwinnen (@oranjevrouwen) July 12, 2022
For those not as well-versed as I in the old Hollandish, this is what that means:
Vivianne Miedema has unfortunately tested positive for COVID-19 and will therefore be in isolation for the next few days. When she no longer has any symptoms and tests negative, she can rejoin the selection.
So hopefully she’s good for the knockouts, at least.
Half-time reading:
Half-time: Denmark 0-0 Finland
Finaldn have been solid, Korpela in particular, and Denmark have thinking to do.
45+2 min Nadim finds Harder who picks out Thomsen with a fine early ball; there’s time for the cross. But Thomsen, who’s had a poor half, can only waft behind.
45+1 min Korpela does well to flap the corner away, then from outside the box, Veje meets the loose ball and lamp behind.
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45 min There’ll be two added minutes.
45 min Harder slips to Trige on her outside, but again, Korpela – who was also good against Spain – advances well, to smother behind before cross or shot can be attempted.
44 min Then Sevecke seeks Nadim, but Pikkujamsa intercepts.
44 min The corners finds Harder, whose cross is headed away; Oling will try a long throw...
43 min Pedersen lofts a nice ball out to Thomsen, still on the right, and her curling cross is a goodun. But Kuikka is alert enough to wave a leg that sends the ball behind.
40 min More directionless Denmark possession.
38 min Nice from Finland, Sainio making ground on the right and clipping a clever pass into the box that bisects two defenders, finding Kolvisto. So she tries to measure a cross into the middle for Oling, which is just too far in front of her and instead slips just past the far post.
37 min Bit of possession from Finland – they’re playing well.
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35 min The corner comes to nothing, which is to say that Finland have done a decent job tightening up at the back.
34 min Now it’s Thomsen with a shot, but again Korpela does the necessary, turning behind.
33 min Best bit of play from Denmark so far, Nadim finding Bruun who returns the favour as Harder steps over, but the resultant shot trickles wide.
33 min Troelsgaard mooches through midfield and sends Harder in, but Kuikka does really well to stay with her which, along with a poor first touch, means Korpela can race out to smother.
31 min Almost all of Denmark’s best play has come down the right, but Thrige, responsible for much of it, has swapped with Thomsen. Perhaps Søndergaard thinks he can retain that from the former, while getting more from the latter.
30 min The corner comes to nowt.
29 min Better again from Denmark, again down the right; Sevecke finds Harder, who attacks the box from the side, but Pikkujamsa gets in the road, knocking the ball behind.
29 min Aaaarrrggghhh! Harder finds Thrige down the right and she’s loads of time to pick out a cross ... but sends an absolute dog straight to Korpela.
27 min Bruun takes possession in centrefield and drives forward, but she hangs on too long to feed in Thomsen on her outside so has no choice but to have a dig herself, lashing wide.
26 min Harder appears down the right, but her cross is easily seen off. Ultimately, sticking the ball in with only one striker waiting means it needs to be perfect to create anything.
25 min Denmark just aren’t moving enough to disconcert Finland’s defence, nor getting the ball to their attackers in space, so they can get a run on any of its members one on one. They’re also not switching play quickly enough, which means the opposing back four can just shuffle back or across.
23 min We’ve seen hardly anything of Harder - or Bruun for that matter. That’s partly because Finland are defending well, but also because her teammates aren’t finding her as they should be.
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22 min Exhibit A:
This assist from Miedema 🤯😮💨 pic.twitter.com/N8pAGAuYat
— Alex Ibaceta (@alexibaceta23) February 5, 2022
21 min Interesting insight from elsewhere in this group. Miedema isn’t far off the best player in the world, and this is part of the reason why.
Miedema: "We were surprised by the Swedes' line-up."
— Ⓒmiedemastuff (@miedemastuff) July 12, 2022
At half-time, when they were 1-0 down to #SWE. In the dressing room, Miedema suggested a tactical switch involving Roord and Van de Donk switching positions. It paid off as Roord equalised shortly after the break. pic.twitter.com/iZe4fJCnps
19 min Better from Finland, Franssi moving the ball down the left then inside to Sainio, who shifts is one more to Summanen, who drags her shot wide.
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18 min “Great to see Nadim start!” emails Andy Grey. “Class player, seriously hoping she scores a goal as she’s just recovered from ACL rehab.”
Yup, that injury at any age, never mind at 34, is a brutal thing. But she’s good enough to affect this tournament even though she won’t be whats she was, definitely not now and perhaps not ever again/
17 min They do then get out, but Pikkujamsa can only hump a long cross towards the far side of the box, where Veje heads away easily.
16 min Denmark are dominating now, Finland sitting deep and struggling to progress beyond the confines of their own half.
14 min In that break, we see Korpela save again, and it was a better one that that for which I gave her credit. Nadim’s shot went of heel and foot, but the angle sent it pretty wide of the keeper, who had to dive then stretch again to push away.
13 min Ballisager heads Sallstrom, so there’s a break while she’s treated.
12 min “I’ve always thought that the lack of lyrics for a national anthem puts the team (eg Spain’s) at a huge advantage right at the start, says Charles Antaki. “Whatever nonsense the others have to sing, it’s going to come out either manic or lacklustre and musically atrocious one way or the other.”
I’m not the best person to opine on this because I’m Jewish and our liturgy is full of wordless tunes with nye-nye-nyes replacing lyrics, so I’m naturally disposed to the proposal.
10 min Thrige again down the right and this time her cross is excellent, low, quick, and with Junge’s near-post stepover obfuscating its path from the defence. But Nadim, in the middle, doesn’t catch her shot properly, trying to guide it into the far bottom corner, so again Korpela saves.
9 min Lovely from Nadim, getting a run on Pikkujamsa and chucking a pair of lollipops before gliding on the outside, opening a shooting lane. Her effort is a decent one too, but it’s straight at Korpela who saves easily enough.
7 min Troelsgaard has Thrige outside and does pick the overlap, but the resultant cross is a poor one and Finland clear.
6 min Denmark have settled, now keeping possession better and picking up second balls. And as I write that, Harder is on the edge of the box with Sevecke outside her and no defender close. But she opts to shoot and is blocked at source.
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4 min Email! “If we include teams with sweepers, there were a number of serious teams with back threes,” reckons Kári Tulinius. “Argentina’s 1986 World Cup winners spring to mind. As for this competition, I’ve found it very enjoyable. It’s threatening to be a classic tournament, though it’s still too early to tell.”
To address your second point first, I couldn’t agree more – there are so many potential winners – and the only decent thing about the Qatar World Cup is that it gives this tournament centre stage. And yes, I guess if we allow sweepers we can also allow West Germany 1990.
2 min Finland start the faster and after Ballisager mops up a ball in behind, Kuikka wellies a shot well over the bar from roughly 69.51 yards.
1 min Our commentators are Mark Scott and Scott Booth, which reminds me of the old London Underground thing, Green Park, Park Royal, Royal Oak, Oakwood, Wood Green, Green Park.
1 min Peep! Peep!
The players take the knee, then it’s off we go!
Back to the managers, though, it’s quite a thing to say your players lost their bottle. I guess if the alternative explanation was that they were outclassed, it makes some kind of sense.
There’s little better than footballers singing tunelessly, and Finland’s do not let us down.
The players are with us! Anthem time!
Anna Signeul, the Finland manager, says her players are ready and loved the atmosphere last time, while Lars Søndergaard, her Danish counterpart says his team lost its collective nerve against Germany, unable to find spaces with the ball and close them without it.
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So how do we feel about this tournament so far? England were superb last night, yet I couldn’t help but think about Argentina 6-0 Serbia from the group stages of the 2006 World Cup. It’s not often the best side in the first phase is the best side at the end. Next, they play the second-placed team in this group, and that will be a stern test, however much Spain miss the injured Putellas.
On which point, in the history of football, how many properly serious teams have played three at the back? I can think of Van Gaal’s Ajax and Del Bosque’s Madrid, but after that I’m struggling. I guess we can allow Conte’s Juventus and Chelsea if we’re being generous.
Something that might work for Finland: 4-4-2 is very decent antidote to 3-4-3 – even more so than 3-5-2 because you don’t even lose the numbers game in midfield. But that aside, it means the defenders have two attackers to deal with, not one, while on each flank, there’s a full-back and a wide player able to exploit the space behind the wing-backs and outside the back line.
Anyone unacquainted with Nadia Nadim can address that situation here:
As for Finland, with Hyyrynen inured, Kuikka comes in at centre-back and Pikkujamsa moves to to the left with Koivisto on the right while, on the right of midfield, Sainio is in for Engman.
But what does it all mean? Denmark make two changes from the team walloped by Germany. On the right of midfield, Thrige comes in with Thomsen moving to the left and Svava dropping out, while Kuhl is also unavailable after being sent-off in injury time. And in attack, the heroic Nadim replaces Madsen.
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Teams!
Denmark (3-4-3): Christensen; Sevecke, Ballisager, Veje; Thrige, Troelsgaard S ,Junge, Thomsen; Nadim, Bruun, Harder. Subs: Svane, Nielsen, Boye Sorensen, Holmgaard K, Holmgaard S, larsen, Bredgaard, Madsen, FGevitz, Gejl, Svava.
Finland(4-4-2): Korpela; Kolvisto, Westerlund, Kuikka, Pikkujamsa; Sainio, Alanen, Summanen, Oling; Sallstrom, Franssi. Subs: Talaslahtim Tamminen, Auvinen, Ahtinen, Kemppi, Heroum, Danielsson, Kollanen, Rantanen, Rantala.
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Preamble
It’s a problem not entirely of their own making – they didn’t draw themselves in a group with Germany and Spain – but whichever way you look at it, these teams are in trouble. If there’s a loser here, they’re almost certainly going home – bad for them, yes, but for us? Let’s get it on!
Finland actually started their game against Spain nicely, taking the lead and missing a decent chance to double the advantage. They ended up taking a hiding nevertheless, and will be particularly disappointed that, of the four goals they conceded, three were headers and the other a penalty. On the other hand, though, those are aspects of play that can be tightened up with a little more focus, and if that happens, they’re a live dog in this match.
Denmark, meanwhile, started the competition with more significant hopes than the rank outsiders. Though only four of the XI that lost the 2017 final began against Germany – the year-long delay helped some teams and hindered others – the incredible Pernille Harder remains in her prime, capable of winning any game on her own.
Kick-off: 5pm BST
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