Finland vs Montenegro

Helsinki Olympic Stadium is the venue as Finland and Montenegro go head-to-head in the second round of the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League group stages.

Despite taking a half-time lead against Montenegro in their Group B3 opener, Finland had to settle for a 1-1 draw. With their hopes of reaching League A getting off to a slow start, the hosts need to rally their troops for the first-ever meeting with Montenegro. Markku Kanerva’s men will look to snap a five-match winless home streak, friendlies included (D2, L3). However, a lack of scoring prowess remains a genuine problem for the ‘Huuhkajat’ as they’ve netted under 1.5 goals in all seven home outings since exiting Euro 2020 last summer (W1, D3, L3). Yet, only Wales have defeated Finland in their seven home Nations League games thus far (W5, D1).

In the meantime, Montenegro’s double beyond the 60th-minute sealed their comprehensive 2-0 home triumph over Romania in their group opener. After securing promotion to League B down the final stretch of last season, the ‘Brave Falcons’ could have hoped for a better start. But a poor away problem could spell trouble for Montenegro, as they have lost three of their last four internationals on hostile turf (W1). With each result (win/loss) in that sequence witnessing the winner on the day keep a clean sheet, scoring first could prove vital for the visitors’ hopes of pulling off an upset in Helsinki.