Finland will play in a major tournament for the first time in their history as a victory over Liechtenstein secured qualification for Euro 2020.
Jasse Tuominen’s first-half strike and a Teemu Pukki double in Helsinki means the Eagle-owls will finish second in Group J, behind winners Italy.
It ended a run of 32 failed qualifying campaigns for either the World Cup or European Championship.
The win sparked scenes of celebration at screenings across Helsinki.
Crowds gathered at a huge screen in the capital while a viewing party was hosted in the city by Premier League side Norwich City, whose striker Pukki has become the talisman of Finland’s qualifying campaign with nine goals.
His exploits for club and country have given birth to the #PukkiParty trend on social media and the Canaries are hosting an official Pukki Party in a Helsinki night club on Friday. They even opened a pop-up Norwich City store in the city to capitalise on the interest in their star striker.
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The Spanish top seed is pinning his hopes on Daniil Medvedev beating defending champion Alexander Zverev in the evening match in Group Andre Agassi in London.
Nadal, who has already secured the year-end number one ranking, has never won the end-of-season tournament and had a miserable start at the O2 Arena, being outplayed by Germany’s Zverev. read more
Source – BBC
