Finland vs France, 2022 World Cup Qualifying - UEFA, Group Stage
· FIFA World Cup Qualifying - UEFAKylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema fire France to win as Finland miss out on World Cup
Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe were on target again as France completed their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win at Finland on Tuesday.
Match Timeline
- 0': Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
- 0': First Half begins.
- 4': Aurélien Tchouaméni (France) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 4': Foul by Glen Kamara (Finland).
- 5': Attempt saved. Moussa Diaby (France) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Lucas Digne.
- 6': Offside, France. Jules Koundé tries a through ball, but Moussa Diaby is caught offside.
- 7': Offside, Finland. Urho Nissilä tries a through ball, but Teemu Pukki is caught offside.
- 9': Foul by Rasmus Schüller (Finland).
- 9': Kylian Mbappé (France) wins a free kick on the left wing.
- 9': Rasmus Schüller (Finland) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
- 11': Attempt missed. Lucas Digne (France) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Antoine Griezmann.
- 22': Attempt missed. Glen Kamara (Finland) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Robin Lod.
- 25': Attempt missed. Antoine Griezmann (France) left footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Léo Dubois.
- 29': Attempt missed. Kylian Mbappé (France) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Antoine Griezmann.
- 30': Attempt saved. Teemu Pukki (Finland) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Robin Lod.
- 30': Foul by Lucas Digne (France).
- 30': Urho Nissilä (Finland) wins a free kick on the right wing.
- 33': Attempt missed. Teemu Pukki (Finland) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Robin Lod.
- 39': Attempt blocked. Urho Nissilä (Finland) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Rasmus Schüller.
- 39': Corner, Finland. Conceded by Dayot Upamecano.
- 43': Corner, Finland. Conceded by Léo Dubois.
- 44': Attempt missed. Leo Väisänen (Finland) header from very close range misses to the right. Assisted by Urho Nissilä with a cross following a corner.
- 45'+1': First Half ends, Finland 0, France 0.
- 45': Second Half begins Finland 0, France 0.
- 45': Substitution, France. Benjamin Pavard replaces Léo Dubois because of an injury.
- 47': Attempt missed. Jere Uronen (Finland) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Robin Lod.
- 48': Daniel O'Shaughnessy (Finland) wins a free kick on the left wing.
- 48': Foul by Moussa Diaby (France).
- 56': Substitution, France. Karim Benzema replaces Moussa Diaby.
- 57': Substitution, France. Kingsley Coman replaces Jules Koundé.
- 58': Attempt saved. Karim Benzema (France) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Lucas Digne.
- 58': Offside, France. Kylian Mbappé tries a through ball, but Karim Benzema is caught offside.
- 61': Foul by Aurélien Tchouaméni (France).
- 61': Urho Nissilä (Finland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 64': Substitution, Finland. Marcus Forss replaces Rasmus Schüller.
- 66': Goal! Finland 0, France 1. Karim Benzema (France) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Kylian Mbappé.
- 67': Substitution, France. Mattéo Guendouzi replaces Antoine Griezmann.
- 71': Foul by Robin Lod (Finland).
- 71': Mattéo Guendouzi (France) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 73': Substitution, Finland. Robert Taylor replaces Jere Uronen.
- 74': Corner, Finland. Conceded by Lucas Digne.
- 76': Goal! Finland 0, France 2. Kylian Mbappé (France) right footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Lucas Digne.
- 80': Attempt saved. Kylian Mbappé (France) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Benjamin Pavard.
- 82': Substitution, Finland. Joel Pohjanpalo replaces Daniel O'Shaughnessy.
- 82': Substitution, Finland. Onni Valakari replaces Urho Nissilä.
- 83': Corner, Finland. Conceded by Lucas Digne.
- 83': Corner, Finland. Conceded by Kurt Zouma.
- 86': Substitution, France. Jordan Veretout replaces Adrien Rabiot.
- 88': Foul by Mattéo Guendouzi (France).
- 88': Teemu Pukki (Finland) wins a free kick on the left wing.
- 89': Attempt missed. Onni Valakari (Finland) left footed shot from outside the box is too high following a set piece situation.
- 90': Corner, France. Conceded by Onni Valakari.
- 90'+3': Attempt blocked. Onni Valakari (Finland) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Glen Kamara.
- 90'+3': Corner, Finland. Conceded by Aurélien Tchouaméni.
- 90'+4': Second Half ends, Finland 0, France 2.
- 0': Match ends, Finland 0, France 2.
Statistics
 FRA |
FIN |
|
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Fouls | 3 |
| 0 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 2 | Offsides | 1 |
| 1 | Corner Kicks | 6 |
| 1 | Saves | 3 |
| 52.9 | Possession | 47.1 |
| 8 | SHOTS | 8 |
| 5 | ON GOAL | 1 |
| 0.6 | On Target % | 0.1 |
| 0 | Penalty Goals | 0 |
| 0 | Penalty Kicks Taken | 0 |
| 466 | Accurate Passes | 401 |
| 550 | Passes | 483 |
| 0.8 | Pass Completion % | 0.8 |
| 0 | Accurate Crosses | 2 |
| 8 | Crosses | 13 |
| 0.0 | Cross % | 0.2 |
| 60 | Long Balls | 30 |
| 33 | Accurate Long Balls | 15 |
| 0.6 | Long Balls % | 0.5 |
| 0 | Blocked Shots | 2 |
| 7 | Effective Tackles | 5 |
| 11 | Tackles | 10 |
| 0.6 | Tackle % | 0.5 |
| 12 | Interceptions | 12 |
| 24 | Effective Clearances | 10 |
| 24 | Clearances | 10 |
Game Information
Competition: FIFA World Cup Qualifying - UEFA
Venue: Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Attendance: 31,890
Venue: Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Attendance: 31,890
WCQ - UEFA Table
| # | TEAM | GP | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 6 | +12 | 16 |
| 2 | Ukraine | 6 | -1 | 10 |
| 3 | Iceland | 6 | +2 | 7 |
| 4 | Azerbaijan | 6 | -13 | 1 |
Line-Ups
Finland (5-3-2)
| No. | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Lukas Hradecky (GK) |
| 17 | Robert Ivanov |
| 3 | Daniel O'Shaughnessy |
| 15 | Leo Väisänen |
| 21 | Niko Hamalainen |
| 18 | Jere Uronen |
| 11 | Rasmus Schüller  |
| 16 | Urho Nissila |
| 6 | Glen Kamara |
| 8 | Robin Lod |
| 10 | Teemu Pukki |
France (3-4-1-2)
| No. | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hugo Lloris (GK) |
| 15 | Kurt Zouma |
| 4 | Dayot Upamecano |
| 3 | Jules Koundé |
| 8 | Aurélien Tchouaméni |
| 14 | Adrien Rabiot |
| 7 | Antoine Griezmann |
| 18 | Lucas Digne |
| 12 | Léo Dubois |
| 10 | Kylian Mbappé |
| 20 | Moussa Diaby |
WCQ - UEFA News
Italian soccer prez Gravina, Buffon quit after World Cup failure
Italy's soccer federation president resigned amid political pressure on Thursday, two days after the national team failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.
Why didn't Italy qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens react to Italy not qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Italy's soccer chief told to quit after latest World Cup failure
Italy's sports minister has called on the country's soccer federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina to resign after the four-time world champions failed to qualify for a third successive World Cup on Tuesday.
2026 World Cup: Which 48 teams qualified for the tournament?
The race to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is complete. Here's how it all went down across the globe.
Italy have themselves to blame for third straight World Cup miss
We don't need think pieces or inquests into Italy's failure to qualify for a third straight World Cup; in the end, it came down to bad decisions and bad performances, like it always does.