Finland beats Iceland in UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 opener
Katariina Kosola’s second-half stunner clinched a vital 1-0 victory for Finland over a ten-player Iceland side, marking a dream start to their UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 campaign.
Match Summary
In a fiercely contested opening match, Finland showed resilience and seized their moment. The first half delivered energetic exchanges but no goals, with both teams creating dangerous chances. Iceland’s Cecilía Rúnarsdóttir denied Kosola early with a sharp save, while Finland’s Anna Koivunen matched that effort, stopping a powerful header from Glódís Viggósdóttir.
Turning Point
Just past the hour mark, Iceland were reduced to ten players as Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up a second yellow card. Finland quickly capitalized:
In the 70th minute, Kosola sliced in from the left flank and curled an unstoppable shot into the top corner claiming the first goal of the tournament and sealing all three points.
Player of the Match: Katariina Kosola
“Extremely dangerous in attack and rock-solid in defense. A beautiful goal capped off a dominant performance.” UEFA Technical Observer Panel
By the Numbers
- Finland ended an eight-game winless streak in EURO finals (D2 L6)
- This is only their second opening-match win in tournament history
- The team has now kept five straight clean sheets, including qualifiers
- Linda Sällström, aged 36 years and 354 days, set a national record as Finland’s oldest player to appear in a Women’s EURO finals match
Historic Context
- First-ever EURO finals clash between these nations
- Their last competitive meetings came in 1983 qualifiers Finland won both fixtures
Line-ups
Iceland: Rúnarsdóttir; Árnadóttir, Viggósdóttir (Heiðarsdóttir 46), Sigurdardóttir, Arnardóttir; Jóhannsdóttir, Vilhjálmsdóttir (Tryggvadóttir 84), Antonsdóttir; Eiríksdóttir (Albertsdóttir 54), Jessen (Brynjarsdóttir 62), Jónsdóttir
Finland: Koivunen; Koivisto (Lehtola 78), Kuikka, Nyström, Tynnilä; Kosola, Öling (Koivisto 90+5), Summanen, Siren; Sällström (Rantala 78); Franssi (Sevenius 66)
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