Both needing victory to stay in the race for automatic Euro 2024 qualification, Group H rivals Finland and Kazakhstan convene on Tuesday evening.
After weekend defeats, the two nations both trail Denmark and Slovenia by four points, so even a win in Helsinki may not be enough to keep them in contention.
Markku Kanerva's men could not cope with the cool finishing of Slovenian starlet Benjamin Sesko, however, and the young forward's first-half brace effectively sunk Finnish hopes in a 3-0 defeat at Ljubljana's Stadion Stozice.
As a result, the Finns would be unable to finish inside the top two should they lose to Kazakhstan on Tuesday and both Denmark and Slovenia win, which would leave them relying on a potential back-door route to next summer's finals.
While Finland - who play Northern Ireland and San Marino in November - are now four points behind Group H's leading pair, at least one of Denmark and Slovenia will drop points when they meet next month, so the flame of hope still flickers.
0 Comments