Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Finland
Match Time & Date:
08/09/2018
12:00 PM
Prediction: 2-0
Hungary
Finland and Hungary have met on the football field a total of 17 times. Hungary has a better record, managing to beat Finland 12 times and allowing them just two wins. The last time they locked horns was in the qualifying group for the Euro 2016, when Hungary beat Finland both home and away with a score of 1:0. This game will be played at the Ratinan Stadium in Tampere. The Finns will be looking to turn the tide against the Hungarians. They are in better form, winning six out of their last 10 games, drawing three and only losing the one against Romania. Their last win was against Belarus. Hungary hasn’t been in good form, winning only three games out of the last ten, drawing one and losing six, including their last game, at home to Australia, 2:1. The Finns should take advantage of their home ground and earn all three points.
Highlighted Player (Niki Maenpaa):
Niki Maenpaa played for the likes of Kasiysi and HJK during his youth career and in 2003 he joined RC Lens II. The Goalkeeper who was born on 23 January 1985 in Espoo, Finland made 17 appearances for Lens II and in 2006 he signed a contract with Dutch side FC Den Bosch. Niki Maenpaa made 67 league appearances for Den Bosch until 2009 and then he joined Willem II on a free transfer.
After playing 18 matches for the club (league) he joined AZ Alkmaar in October, 2011, but he was a third-choice goalkeeper in the 2011/2012 Eredivisie campaign. Maenpaa was eager to leave the club at the end of the season and he turned his dream into reality on 29 May, 2012 as he signed a three-year deal with VVV-Venlo.
After his contract with Venlo expired Niki Maenpaa joined Brighton in July, 2015 on a free transfer. The goalkeeper made his Finland debut on 2 June 2008 in a friendly match against Belarus. Maenpaa made three appearances for the Finnish national team in the 2016 World Cup qualifiers.
Highlighted Team (Hungary):
Widely known as the Mighty Magyars during the 1950’s, Hungary national team had the world at its feet as the team featuring Ferenc Puskas, Sandor Kocsis and Zoltan Czibor reached the final of the 1954 World Cup, while recording several impressive wins over England and other top sides in international friendlies.
Hungary also made it to the semi-final at the Euro 1964 and Euro 1972, but they have since largely struggled to return to old glory days. The barren run finally came to an end as Foci defeated Norway in the play-off to qualify for the Euro 2016 finals, but there still appears to be a huge gap behind the top European sides.
Long-serving goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly has managed to break a 58-year record held by Jozsef Bozsik, having surpassed the 101-cap mark, but Ferenc Puskas still remains the top goalscorer in the history of the national team with an unbelievable record of 84 goals in 85 caps, followed by Sandor Kocsis, who has 75 goals in 68 appearances.
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