Finland women's national football team

Finland

Nickname(s)	Helmarit (the Boreal Owls)[1]
Association	Football Association of Finland (Suomen Palloliitto)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Anna Signeul
Captain	Tinja-Riikka Korpela
Most caps	Anna Westerlund (136)
Top scorer	Linda Sällström (49)
FIFA code	FIN
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	28 3 (10 December 2021)[2]
Highest	14 (September 2005)
Lowest	32 (March 2019)
First international
Finland 0–0 Sweden  (Mariehamn, Åland 25 August 1973)
Biggest win
Bulgaria 0–8 Finland  (Lovech, Bulgaria 21 August 2014)
Biggest defeat
Denmark 9–0 Finland  (Vejen, Denmark 26 July 1975)
European Championship
Appearances	3 (first in 2005)
Best result	Semi-finals (2005)

The Finland women's national football team, also known as nickname The Boreal Owls (Finnish: Helmarit),^[1] represents Finland in international women's football. The team, controlled by the Football Association of Finland (SPL/FBF), reached the semi-finals of the 2005 European Championship, surprising the female football world having drawn with Sweden and beaten Denmark. Finland hosted the 2009 EC finals.^[3]

The Finnish team now has a few players that are considered to be among the best in the female football, such as Laura Österberg Kalmari, Sanna Valkonen and Anne Mäkinen.

As of March 2017, the team is ranked 28th in the FIFA world ranking. This is the lowest status since the ranking started in 2003. From 2004 to 2010 the typical ranking was #16.^[4]

History[]

The beginning[]

The Finland women's national football team played its first international match in 1973 against Sweden. The game was played in Mariehamn, Åland.

Team image[]

Nicknames[]

The Finland women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Helmarit (the Boreal Owls)"^[1].

Results and fixtures[]

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2021[]

Finland  v  Portugal

19 February Euro 2022 qualifying	Finland	1–0	Portugal	Helsinki, Finland
17:15 (18:15 EET)	Sällström 90+3'	Report (UEFA)		Stadium: Bolt Arena Attendance: 0 Referee: Kateryna Monzul (Ukraine)

Cyprus  v  Finland

23 February Euro 2022 qualifying	Cyprus	0–5	Finland	Larnaca, Cyprus
18:00 (19:00 EET)		Report (UEFA)	Koivisto 4' Sällström 6' Engman 12' Collin 31' Kemppi 90+3'	Stadium: AEK Arena – Georgios Karapatakis Attendance: 0 Referee: Rebecca Welch (England)

Austria  v  Finland

11 April Friendly	Austria	2–2	Finland	Ritzing, Austria
13:30	Billa 6' Höbinger 19'	Report (SW)	Summanen 54', 76'	Stadium: Referee: Eszter Urban (Hungary)

Finland  v  Poland

11 June Friendly	Finland	2–2	Poland	San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain
	Summanen 23' 25' (o.g.)	Report (SW)	Grabowska 58' Pajor 77'	Stadium: Pinatar Arena Football Center

Finland  v  Russia

14 June Friendly	Finland	0–1	Russia	Cartagena, Spain
		Report (SW)	Smirnova 60'	Stadium: Estadio Municipal Cartaagonova Referee: Mirium Matulova

Finland  v  Slovakia

21 September 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification– UEFAGroup A	Finland	2–1	Slovakia	Turku
17:15 (18:15 EEST)	Engman 37' Öling 68'	Report	Mikolajová 63'	Stadium: Veritas Stadion Referee: Marta Frias Acedo (Spain)

Georgia  v  Finland

21 October 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification– UEFAGroup A	Georgia	0–3	Finland	Tbilisi
17:00 (20:00 GET)		Report	Sällström 17' Franssi 68' Alanen 71' (pen)	Stadium: Mikheil Meskhi Stadium Referee: Liudmyla Telbukh (Ukraine)

Finland  v  Republic of Ireland

26 October 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification– UEFAGroup A	Finland	1–2	Republic of Ireland	Helsinki
17:15 (18:15 EEST)	Engman 52'	Report	Connolly 10' D. O'Sullivan 56'	Stadium: Helsinki Olympic Stadium Referee: Alexandra Collin (France)

Sweden  v  Finland

25 November 2023 FIFA WWC qualifier	Sweden	2–1	Finland	Gothenburg
18:30 UTC+1	Rolfö 11' Hurtig 80'	UEFA SvFF	Sällström 29'	Stadium: Gamla Ullevi Referee: Esther Staubli (Switzerland)

2022[]

Slovakia  v  Finland

8 April 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification– UEFAGroup A	Slovakia	v	Finland
		Report

Finland  v  Georgia

12 April 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification– UEFAGroup A	Finland	v	Georgia
17:15 (18:15 EEST)		Report

Spain  v  Finland

8 July UEFA Euro 2022 group stage	Spain	v	Finland	Milton Keynes, England
		Report		Stadium: Stadium MK

Denmark  v  Finland

12 July UEFA Euro 2022 group stage	Denmark	v	Finland	Milton Keynes, England
		Report		Stadium: Stadium MK

Finland  v  Germany

16 July UEFA Euro 2022 group stage	Finland	v	Germany	Milton Keynes, England
		Report		Stadium: Stadium MK

Republic of Ireland  v  Finland

1 September 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification– UEFAGroup A	Republic of Ireland	v	Finland
17:00 (20:00 GET)		Report

Finland  v  Sweden

6 September 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification– UEFAGroup A	Finland	v	Sweden
		Report

Coaching staff[]

Current coaching staff[]

As of February 2021

• Head coach: Anna Signeul
• Assistant coach:
• Assistant coach:
• Assistant coach: Mika Sankala
• Goalkeeping coach:

Manager history[]

As of 20 February 2021

Tenure	Coach	Record
G	W	D	L	Win %
1973–77		12	1	1	10	008.33
1978	Simo Syrjävaara	3	1	1	1	033.33
1979–89	Kaj Österberg	44	13	12	19	029.55
1989–92	Jyrki Nieminen	24	3	4	17	012.50
1993–96		24	4	5	15	016.67
1996–00		46	11	3	32	023.91
2001–09	Michael Käld	107	35	22	50	032.71
2010–16	Andrée Jeglertz	76	27	13	36	035.53
2017		6	2	0	4	033.33
2017–	Anna Signeul	29	15	7	7	051.72

Players[]

Current squad[]

The following players were called up for the match against the Republic of Ireland on 26 October 2021.^[5]

Caps and goals accurate up to 27 October 2020.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Paula Myllyoja	(1984-05-20) 20 May 1984 (age 37)	2	0	Pink Bari
12	1GK	Anna Tamminen	(1994-10-30) 30 October 1994 (age 27)	5	0	Hammarby IF
23	1GK	Tinja-Riikka Korpela	(1986-05-05) 5 May 1986 (age 35)	91	0	Everton
2	2DF	Elli Pikkujämsä	(1999-10-24) 24 October 1999 (age 22)	2	0	KIF Örebro
3	2DF	Tuija Hyyrynen	(1988-03-10) 10 March 1988 (age 33)	109	2	Juventus
5	2DF	Emma Koivisto	(1994-09-25) 25 September 1994 (age 27)	54	2	Brighton & Hove Albion
6	2DF	Anna Auvinen	(1987-03-02) 2 March 1987 (age 34)	16	0	Inter Milan
15	2DF	Natalia Kuikka	(1995-12-01) 1 December 1995 (age 26)	51	3	Portland Thorns
16	2DF	Anna Westerlund	(1989-04-09) 9 April 1989 (age 32)	127	4	Åland United
21	2DF		(1999-11-29) 29 November 1999 (age 22)	0	0	Hammarby IF
4	3MF	Ria Öling	(1994-09-15) 15 September 1994 (age 27)	39	6	Rosengård
8	3MF	Olga Ahtinen	(1997-08-15) 15 August 1997 (age 24)	30	3	Linköpings
10	3MF	Emmi Alanen	(1991-04-30) 30 April 1991 (age 30)	76	19	Växjö
11	3MF	Nora Heroum	(1994-07-20) 20 July 1994 (age 27)	72	1	Brighton & Hove Albion
14	3MF	Julia Tunturi	(1996-04-25) 25 April 1996 (age 25)	25	0	Vittsjö
19	3MF	Essi Sainio	(1986-09-09) 9 September 1986 (age 35)	48	3	HJK
20	3MF	Eveliina Summanen	(1998-05-29) 29 May 1998 (age 23)	20	2	Kristianstad
7	4FW	Adelina Engman	(1994-10-11) 11 October 1994 (age 27)	68	7	Montpellier
9	4FW	Juliette Kemppi	(1994-05-14) 14 May 1994 (age 27)	52	4	London City Lionesses
13	4FW	Amanda Rantanen	(1999-05-11) 11 May 1999 (age 22)	1	1	PK-35
17	4FW	Sanni Franssi	(1995-03-19) 19 March 1995 (age 26)	38	2	Real Sociedad
18	4FW	Linda Sällström	(1988-07-13) 13 July 1988 (age 33)	103	46	Paris FC
22	4FW	Jutta Rantala	(1999-11-11) 11 November 1999 (age 22)	1	1	Kristianstad

Recent call ups[]

The following players have been called up to the squad in the past 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
MF	Iina Salmi	(1994-10-12) 12 October 1994 (age 27)	11	1	Valencia	v.  Georgia, 21 October 2021
MF	Kaisa Collin	(1997-04-16) 16 April 1997 (age 24)	21	2	Eskilstuna United	v.  Russia, 14 June 2021
FW	Jenny Danielsson	(1994-08-30) 30 August 1994 (age 27)	26	6	AIK	v.  Georgia, 21 October 2021

Captains[]

This section needs expansion. You can help by . (April 2021)

• Tinja-Riikka Korpela (????–)

Records[]

*Active players in bold, statistics correct as of 15 June 2021.

Most capped players[] Rank Player Caps Goals Years 1 Anna Westerlund 135 4 2008– 2 Laura Österberg Kalmari 130 41 1996–2011 3 Sanna Valkonen 120 7 1995–2009 4 Anne Mäkinen 118 16 1991–2009 Jessica Julin 4 1997–2009 6 Tuija Hyyrynen 112 2 2007– 7 Linda Sällström 110 49 2007– 8 Anna-Kaisa Rantanen 105 8 1996–2011 9 Sanna Talonen 103 36 2004–2014 10 Katri Mattsson 100 2 1999–2015 Source:[6] Top goalscorers[] Rank Player Goals Caps Years Avg 1 Linda Sällström 48 109 2007– 0,44 2 Laura Österberg Kalmari 41 130 1996–2011 0,315 3 Sanna Talonen 36 103 2004–2014 0,35 4 Emmi Alanen 19 86 2010– 0,221 5 Annica Sjölund 17 69 2006–2014 0,246 6 Anne Mäkinen 16 118 1991–2009 0,136 7 Heidi Kackur 12 48 1999–2005 0,25 8 Maija Saari 11 94 2007–2016 0,117 9 8 29 1979–1992 0,276 Susanna Heikari 8 44 1994–2002 0,182 Anna-Kaisa Rantanen 8 105 1996–2011 0,076 Adelina Engman 8 72 2012– 0,111 Ria Öling 8 48 2015– 0,166 Source:[6] Competitive record[] FIFA Women's World Cup[] FIFA Women's World Cup record Qualification record Year Result GP W D* L GF GA GD GP W D* L GF GA GD 1991 Did not qualify UEFA Euro 1991 1995 UEFA Euro 1995 1999 8 3 1 4 8 9 -1 2003 6 1 0 5 4 24 -20 2007 8 5 1 2 16 5 +11 2011 8 6 1 1 25 6 +19 2015 10 7 0 3 27 9 +18 2019 8 3 1 4 9 13 -4 2023 To be determined To be determined Total - - - - - - - - 48 25 4 19 89 66 +23 *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. UEFA Women's Championship[] UEFA Women's Championship record Qualifying record Year Result GP W D* L GF GA GD GP W D* L GF GA GD 1984 Did not qualify 6 2 0 4 5 17 -12 1987 6 1 2 3 2 6 -4 1989 6 1 2 3 9 11 -2 1991 6 1 2 3 3 6 -3 1993 4 0 2 2 3 12 -9 1995 6 2 3 1 8 7 +1 1997 8 1 1 6 2 24 -22 2001 8 2 0 6 8 21 -13 2005 Semi-finals 4 1 1 2 5 8 -3 10 4 4 2 16 7 +9 2009 Quarter-finals 4 2 0 2 5 5 ±0 Qualified as host 2013 Group stage 3 0 2 1 1 6 -5 8 6 1 1 22 4 +18 2017 Did not qualify 8 4 1 3 17 12 +5 2022 Qualified 8 7 1 0 24 2 +22 Total 4/13 11 3 3 5 11 19 -8 84 31 19 34 119 129 -10 *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. Algarve Cup[] Complete this table with details The Algarve Cup is a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's soccer hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious women's football events, alongside the Women's World Cup and Women's Olympic Football. Year Result Matches Wins Draws Losses GF GA 1994 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1995 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1996 Did not enter 1997 Did not enter 1998 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1999 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2000 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2001 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2002 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2003 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2004 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2005 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2006 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2007 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2008 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2009 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2010 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2011 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2012 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2013 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2014 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2015 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2016 Did not enter 2017 Did not enter 2018 Did not enter Total 11/25 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cyprus Women's Cup[] Cyprus Women's Cup record Year Result GP W D L GF GA GD 2012 7th place 4 1 1 2 6 7 −1 2013 7th place 4 1 1 2 5 6 −1 2014 12th place 4 0 1 3 1 8 −7 2015 9th place 4 1 1 2 3 7 −4 2016 8th place 4 0 1 3 3 8 −5 2018 11th place 4 1 1 2 4 7 −3 2019 9th place 4 1 1 2 3 6 −3 2020 Runners-up 3 1 1 1 7 6 −3 Total 24 6 8 17 22 43 −21 Nordic Football Championship[] Women's Nordic Football Championship record Year Result GP W D L GF GA GD 1974 Third place 2 0 0 2 0 6 −6 1975 Third place 2 0 0 2 0 13 −13 1976 Third place 2 0 0 2 1 5 −4 1977 Third place 2 0 0 2 0 5 −5 1978 Third place 3 1 1 1 1 4 −3 1979 Third place 3 1 1 1 2 5 −3 1980 Fourth place 3 0 2 1 1 8 −7 1981 Runners-up 3 1 1 1 3 4 −1 1982 Fourth place 3 0 1 2 1 6 −5 Total 9/9 23 3 6 14 9 56 -47 See also[] Sports in Finland Football in Finland Women's football in Finland Football Association of Finland (SPL) National teams Women's Finland women's national football team Finland women's national football team results List of Finland women's international footballers Finland women's national under-20 football team Finland women's national under-17 football team Men's Finland national football team References[] ^ a b c "Helmarit nimetty MM-karsinta-avaukseen Serbiaa vastaan" (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. Retrieved 22 June 2018. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021. ^ "Women's Euro 2009 in Finland". Embassy of Finland. 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2016. ^ "Finland". FIFA. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2016. ^ "Helmarit nimetty Portugali - ja Kypros-otteluihin" (in Finnish). Suomen Palloliitto. Retrieved 19 February 2021. ^ a b "Finland - Women International Player Records". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF).Published October 8, 2019, retrieved and Updated data June 15, 2021. External links[] Official website FIFA profile