The Russians defeated Finland 1:0 to shake up the group. 21-year-old stopper Diveyev shone

In the first match of the second round of Group B, Finland and Russia clashed. Surprisingly, the Nordic team was able to win the group, while Russia had to make up for their failure against Belgium (0::3).

This duel offered a clash of two completely different teams. While the Russians clearly lost to Belgium, the Finns sensationally defeated Denmark.

The psychological wellbeing of the first duels was also reflected in this match. In the 4th minute, Finland took the lead when Joel Pohjanpalo pounced on Jukka Raitala’s centre and headed it into the net. But the Finnish joy was thwarted by VAR, which found an offside in the previous action.

Five minutes later the Russians also made their presence felt, Magomed Ozdoev was wide open at the back post but directed his shot high over the bar. In the 21st minute Finland took the lead again. Joel Pohjanpalo, after a beautiful through pass, ran in alone on goal, but his shot was blocked by Diveyev at the last moment.

Two minutes later, Mario Fernandes pounced on a high centre, but it went so badly that he had to make an immediate substitution and was replaced by former Spartan Vyacheslav Karavaev.

And it was Zenit’s right-back who was at the scene of the Russians’ next dangerous action. Daler Kuzyayev sent a stinging ball to the back post where Karavaev was charging, but Jere Uronen cleared the ball to safety just in front of him.

But Russia gradually added to their tally until the Northerners conceded. In the second minute of the first half, Miranchuk collided with captain Dzyuba and sent Russia into the lead with a beautiful shot into the left post. The game went to the booths at 1: 0.

After the change of sides, the Finns had a big chance. Robin Lod sent a beautiful pass to Pukki, but his shot was again blocked by Igor Diveyev, the 21-year-old Russian hero of the match.

In the 54th minute, Teemu Pukki had another shot, but the Norwich forward sent his attempt just wide of the net. With Finland unable to convert their chances, the Russians came out again. After a pass from Miranchuk, substitute Zhemaletdinov headed into the box, but his shot was just wide of the post.

Instead of Finnish pressure, however, it was the Russians who continued to get chances, looking to increase their lead. In the 72nd minute, Dzyuba found Kuzyayev on the whitewash, but his shot was brilliantly pulled back by Lukas Hradecky.

The Finns did not create any more chances and the match ended with Russia winning 1:0. This made the situation in the group very confusing, because at the moment all 4 teams can still advance.

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