Finland coach Markku Kanerva appreciates what happened to Christian Eriksen will remain with his players long after Euro 2020, but he hopes they can focus as they prepare to take on Russia.
Denmark midfielder Eriksen was given CPR on the pitch after collapsing with no other players around him in the first half of Saturday's Group B game against Finland in Copenhagen.
It was later confirmed the 29-year-old had suffered a cardiac arrest, with Morten Boesen - the team doctor for Denmark - revealing he was "gone" before being resuscitated on the field.
After a lengthy delay, the two nations returned to the pitch to complete the game. Finland went on to win 1-0, Joel Pohjanpalo grabbing the goal with his team's only attempt during proceedings.
While Eriksen is undergoing further tests in hospital - he posted an update on his condition via the Danish Football Union on Twitter on Tuesday, including a picture of him smiling while giving a thumbs-up gesture, Kanerva knows what unfolded will linger in some of his players' minds.
"It is hard to estimate how what happened to Eriksen is affecting different people. Of course we all have it in our minds and we are very glad that he's doing better," he told the media.
"I hope that with regarding the difficult situation, we will be able to concentrate on our next match. Certainly, it will remain in our minds, even after the tournament.
"It's not an easy task all of a sudden to concentrate only on football, because there were bigger things than football in play. Hopefully, we can concentrate fully and do our best."
Russia lost their opening game 3-0 to Belgium but will hope to bounce back against Finland, a team they have beaten in all four previous meetings since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
They have scored at least three goals in each of those matches, though coach Stanislav Cherchesov is taking nothing for granted.
"It was a somewhat surprise result (against Denmark), but Finland's attitude towards the game did not surprise me," Cherchesov, who revealed the injured Yuri Zhirkov could miss the rest of the tournament after coming off against Belgium, told the media.
"Their team is a strong one and they showed it. The game could have worked out differently, but we have known from the beginning that they are a strong opponent."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Finland - Joel Pohjanpalo
Pohjanpalo will forever have a place in history after scoring Finland's maiden goal in the tournament. He will be hoping to help them become the first team to win their opening two European Championship matches since Croatia back in 1996. The 26-year-old spent the 2020-21 season on loan at Union Berlin from Bundesliga rivals Bayer Leverkusen, scoring six times in 19 appearances.
Russia - Aleksandr Golovin
Russia endured a tough start on home soil, managing just one on-target attempt as they were soundly beaten in St Petersburg. Aleksandr Golovin did his best in attack, supplying seven crosses and creating one chance. Back in action at the same venue, the playmaker can expect to see far more of the ball after the Russians had just 33.6 per cent of possession against the Belgians.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- Finland have only scored one goal in their four previous games against Russia, back in November 1995. That goal, scored by Kim Suominen, was netted past goalkeeper Stanislav Cherchesov, now Russia's head coach.
- Finland's 6-0 defeat to Russia back in August 1995 remains the last time they were beaten by that margin in an international match – current boss Markku Kanerva made his 58th and penultimate appearance for the national side that day.
- Russia are without a win in their last six matches at European Championships (D2 L4), losing each of their last three in a row. They have never lost four consecutive matches in the competition.
- Since 1980, Finland became just the fourth team win a match at the European Championships while having 21+ shots fewer than their opponents, after Turkey in 2000 (v Belgium), Denmark in 2012 (v Netherlands) and Greece in 2012 (v Russia).
- Pohjanpalo scored his 10th international goal, in what was his 43rd cap for his country – becoming one of only two players in Finland's Euro 2020 squad to have netted 10+ goals for the national side (also Teemu Pukki, 30).
- Yuri Zhirkhov (37 years, 296 days) became the oldest player ever to make an appearance for Russia at the European Championship, overtaking Sergei Ignashevich from 2016 (36y 342d). However, his appearance against Belgium lasted only 43 minutes owing to injury, while only Ignashevich (10) has made more European Championship appearances for Russia than Zhirkhov (9).
Toronto FC v CF Montreal: Courtois accepts blame amid ongoing winless streak
Laurent Courtois has accepted that it is on him to find a winning formula as CF Montreal look to snap their winless run against Toronto FC.
Montreal were beaten 3-1 by Columbus Crew in midweek and are now without a victory in six games in all competitions.
That includes a three-game losing streak in MLS, leaving them 13th in the Eastern Conference, and Courtois is eager to get back on track.
"It's up to me to find the winning formulas and discern the phases of the game," head coach Courtois said after the loss to Columbus.
"We have to grit our teeth and find solutions. The difficult times we are going through help me identify my group. I want to know the players better.
"From all the negative aspects we can observe, I can identify a few individual aspects to improve the game or the team itself."
Monreal's rivals Toronto have themselves lost back-to-back games ahead of Saturday's Canadian Classique at BMO Field.
Nashville SC scored twice late on to snatch a 2-0 win in the Reds' most recent match, but acting head coach Jason deVos admits there can be no excuses.
"The last ten minutes, two mistakes cost us and that's the cruelty of football sometimes - that it's a 90-minute match and you need to put in a 90-minute performance in," he said.
"The players are aware of that. They know where the growth areas are for us as a team."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto - Federico Bernardeschi
Bernardeschi missed the loss to Nashville but will hope to start this weekend in a fixture he has fond memories of.
The Italian has scored in each of his two home games against Montreal, making him the third Toronto player to score in two successive home games against them after Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley.
Montreal - Joel Waterman
Montreal have conceded three or more goals five times across their 12 MLS games this season, which is tied with San Jose Earthquakes for the most in MLS.
They quite simply need to sharpen up at the back, with Joel Waterman needing to step up and hope others around him also do so.. The centre-back led the way for interceptions (three) and clearances (four) against Columbus, yet it was still not enough.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Montreal have won five successive matches against Toronto, following a run of neither side ever winning more than three on the spin in this fixture.
Toronto have won seven and drawn one of their eight matches in which they have held opponents under two goals since September, while they have lost all 13 in which they have shipped two or more.
Keeping the opposition quiet is therefore key, and this could present a chance to do just that against a Montreal side with fewer points (five) than any side in MLS since mid-March.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Toronto - 39.6%
Draw - 28.5%
Montreal - 31.9%
Fiorentina 2-2 Napoli: Kvaratskhelia keeps visitors' slim European hopes alive
Dethroned Italian champions Napoli's hopes of playing European football next season are hanging by a thread after they played out a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina in Serie A on Friday.
Napoli took the lead in the eighth minute through defender Amir Rrahmani, who nodded home a corner by Matteo Politano.
Cristiano Biraghi levelled for Fiorentina in the 40th minute from a free-kick, before M'Bala Nzola put the hosts in front two minutes later when he fired a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia responded with another stunning free-kick early in the second half to rescue a point for his team.
Eighth-placed Fiorentina, on 54 points and with a game in hand, are five points behind Lazio in seventh.
They can still earn a Europa League spot either by leapfrogging the Rome side or by winning the Europa Conference League final in which they face Greece's Olympiakos on May 29.
Ninth-placed Napoli, on 52 points, still have a slim chance of making the Europa Conference League playoffs.
Data Debrief
Fiorentina left-back Biraghi has now scored six goals from direct free-kicks since the start of 2021-22, which is behind only James Ward-Prowse (seven) - now of West Ham and formerly of Southampton - as the most across Europe's top five leagues in that period.
Kvaratskhelia also levelled via a direct free-kick, making this the first Serie A match in which both teams scored via that route since Fiorentina against Lazio in April 2018 (Jordan Veretout and Luis Alberto in that case).
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
