Finland national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Finland women's national football team.

The Finland national football team (Finnish: Suomen jalkapallomaajoukkue, Swedish: Finlands fotbollslandslag) represents Finland in men's international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland, the governing body for football in Finland, which was founded in 1907. The team has been a member of FIFA since 1908 and a UEFA member since 1957.

Finland

Nickname(s)	Huuhkajat (The Eagle-owls)
Association	Suomen Palloliitto (SPL)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Jacob Friis
Captain	Lukas Hradecky
Most caps	Jari Litmanen (137)
Top scorer	Teemu Pukki (43)
Home stadium	Helsinki Olympic Stadium
FIFA code	FIN
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	73 2 (1 April 2026)
Highest	33 (March 2007)
Lowest	110 (July–August 2017)
First international
Finland 2–5 Sweden (Helsinki, Finland; 22 October 1911) as Finland Sweden 1–0 Finland (Stockholm, Sweden; 29 May 1919)
Biggest win
Finland 10–2 Estonia (Helsinki, Finland; 11 August 1922) Finland 8–0 San Marino (Helsinki, Finland; 17 November 2010)
Biggest defeat
Germany 13–0 Finland (Leipzig, Germany; 1 September 1940)
European Championship
Appearances	1 (first in 2020)
Best result	Group stage (2020)
Olympic Games
Appearances	4 (first in 1912)
Best result	Fourth place (1912)
Baltic Cup
Appearances	2 (first in 2012)
Best result	Runners-up (2012)

Finland had never qualified for a major tournament until securing a spot at UEFA Euro 2020. After decades of average results and campaigns, the nation made progress in the 2000s, achieving notable results against established European teams and reaching a peak of 33rd in the FIFA World Rankings in 2007. Afterward, their performances and results declined, drawing them to their all-time low of 110th in the FIFA Rankings in 2017. Seven years after their all-time low in the FIFA Rankings, as of October 2025, they sit at 72nd place in the overall ranking.

History

Finland team playing a Moscow XI in Moscow 1912

Early history

The Football Association of Finland was founded in 1907 and became a member of FIFA the next year. At the time, Finland was an autonomous grand duchy ruled by the Russian Emperors. Finland played its first international on 22 October 1911, as Sweden beat the Finns at the Eläintarha Stadium in Helsinki. Finland participated the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, beating Italy and the Russian Empire, but losing the bronze medal match against the Netherlands.

Period of dispersion

The Finnish national team against Denmark in 1933

After the 1918 Civil War, the Finnish sports movement was divided into the right-wing Finnish Gymnastics and Sports Federation (SVUL) and the leftist Finnish Workers' Sports Federation (TUL). The Finnish Football Association was a member of the SVUL. Both sides had their own championship series, and between 1919 and 1939 the Finland national team was selected from Football Association players only. The Finnish Workers' Sports Federation football team participated in the competitions of the international labour movement.

However, from the late 1920s several top footballers defected from the TUL and joined the Football Association so as to be eligible for the national team. During the 1930s, these ″defectors″ formed the spine of the national team. For example, the Finland squad at the 1936 Summer Olympics included eight former TUL players. In 1937, Finland participated FIFA World Cup qualification for the first time, losing all three matches against Sweden, Germany and Estonia.

From 1939, TUL players were selected for the national team and finally, in 1956, the TUL and the Football Association series were merged.

Post-war years

The 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki saw the Finnish hosts lose to Austria in the first round. Finland did, however, win the unofficial Nordic championship in 1964 and 1966.

Finland also took part in European Championship qualifying from the 1968 event, but had to wait for its first win until 1978.

Late 20th century

Finnish team after the victory over Yugoslavia in 1950

Finland against the Netherlands from 1975

Finland missed out on qualification for Euro 1980 by just a point and for the 1986 World Cup by two points. Finland was invited to take part in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow after many Western countries announced they would boycott the games, but failed to progress from its group.

By the mid-1990s Finland started to have more players in high-profile European leagues, led by Ajax superstar Jari Litmanen. In 1996, Euro 1992-winning coach Richard Møller Nielsen was hired to take Finland to the 1998 World Cup. The team enjoyed mixed fortunes in the campaign, the high points of which were a draw and a win away to Norway and Switzerland respectively. Going into the last match, Finland needed a win at home to Hungary to earn a place in the play-offs. They led the game 1–0 going into injury time, but scored an own goal, and their qualification campaign was over. Møller Nielsen also tried to lead Finland to Euro 2000. In that campaign the Finns recorded a sensational win away to Turkey, but couldn't compete with Germany and Turkey in the long run.

Jari Litmanen is widely regarded as Finland's greatest footballer of all time.

Antti Muurinen succeeded Møller Nielsen as coach in 2000. He had arguably the most talented group of Finnish players ever at his disposal, including players such as Antti Niemi, Sami Hyypiä, Teemu Tainio and Mikael Forssell in addition to the legendary Litmanen. The team performed quite well under him in qualification for the 2002 World Cup despite a difficult group, earning two draws against Germany and a home draw with England as well as beating Greece 5–1 in Helsinki. In the end, however, England and Germany proved too strong, and the Finns finished third in the group, although they were the only team in the group not to lose at home. Hopes were high going into qualification for Euro 2004 after the promising previous campaign and friendly wins over the likes of Norway, Belgium and Portugal (which saw the Finns jump from 40th to 30th in the Elo ranking). However, Finland started the campaign by losing to Wales and Yugoslavia (later Serbia and Montenegro, now two separate nations). These losses were followed by two defeats by Italy, and a 3–0 home win over Serbia and Montenegro was little consolation as the Finns finished fourth in the group. In qualification for the 2006 World Cup, Finland failed to score a single point in six matches against the top three teams in their group, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Romania. Muurinen was sacked in June 2005 and replaced by caretaker Jyrki Heliskoski, but results didn't improve.

Recent history

In August 2005, it was announced that Englishman Roy Hodgson would become the new Finland coach in 2006, and he started the job in January of that year. Hodgson stepped down as manager after they failed to qualify for Euro 2008.

Hodgson's replacement was a Scotsman, Stuart Baxter, who signed a contract until the end of the 2012 European Championship qualification campaign. In the Euro 2008 qualifying Finland needed to win their last qualifying game away to Portugal to qualify for their first major football tournament. However, the match ended 0–0, meaning the team missed out on qualification to the tournament, with Finland ending the group stage with 24 points and Portugal with 27 points. However, the performance in qualifying led to the Finns gaining their best-ever FIFA world ranking to date at 33rd.

The 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign saw Finland again finish third in their group with five wins, three draws and two defeats. They were the only team in qualifying not to lose to eventual 3rd-place finishers Germany. In both the home and away matches Finland had led Germany, only to concede late equalizers.

Mixu Paatelainen era (2011–2015)

During the Euro 2012 qualifying, head coach Baxter was sacked, and on 31 March 2011 he was replaced by former national team player Mixu Paatelainen. Paatelainen started his tenure with a win against San Marino, only to be followed by a 5–0 loss against Sweden. Finland eventually finished fourth in its group with only three wins, two of them against San Marino.

Paatelainen's deal with the Finnish FA extended until 2016, covering the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers, and also the next 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification and the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers. As Finland had already been eliminated from UEFA Euro 2012, his main task was to renew the national team with a generation switch, and try to qualify for one or more of the tournaments during his projected tenure as Finland's head coach. This included ultimately leaving out Jari Litmanen, the most capped player and the team's long-served captain and "The King of Finnish Football".

In the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, Finland's best result was a 1–1 draw against reigning world champions Spain. They finished third in the five-team Group I, behind Spain and France. On 14 June 2015, Paatelainen was sacked following his fourth defeat in a row during the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. Finland eventually finished fourth in Euro 2016 qualifying under the guidance of a caretaker manager, Markku Kanerva. They achieved a somewhat noteworthy result when Joel Pohjanpalo's goal gave the Finns a 1–0 win at former European champions Greece, who had reached the second round of the 2014 World Cup and were the top seeds of their qualifying group.

Paatelainen had applied his preferred formation of 4–3–2–1, which he had named joulukuusi – the Christmas tree – due to its shape. Because of the bad results while insistently using the same formation, and his defensive statements to media, he gained a negative reputation among the supporters and the media, and his time as the national team head coach is still remembered mainly for joulukuusi.

Hans Backe (2016)

On 12 August 2015, Swedish Hans Backe was named the new manager, starting on 1 January 2016. His first official match with the team was on 10 January 2016, and ended in a 3–0 defeat by Sweden. On 12 December 2016, Backe was fired during the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, and a former assistant and caretaker Markku Kanerva was named the new head coach. Finland did not win a single game during Backe's time as head coach. His record during 2016 was nine defeats and two draws.

Markku Kanerva era (2016–2024)

Markku Kanerva managed to lead his Finnish national team to first time qualification to a UEFA European Tournament.

Finland's FIFA ranking had declined from its peak of 33rd in 2007 to 110th in 2017. As UEFA created a new competition, UEFA Nations League, to largely replace international friendlies, Finland were placed in the League C in the first 2018–19 edition due to the low ranking position. Kanerva renewed the team roster, as veterans such as Perparim Hetemaj, Niklas Moisander and Alexander Ring had announced their retirement from international duty. Roman Eremenko was also no longer available for national team due to a competition ban. With a help of goalscoring by Teemu Pukki and saves by captain goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, Finland won their League C Group 2, ahead of Hungary, Greece and Estonia, and won promotion to League B for the next edition of UEFA Nations League.

Kanerva continued to get outstanding results with the team in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualification, and on 15 November 2019 Finland qualified for the country's first ever major tournament, UEFA Euro 2020, after defeating Liechtenstein 3–0 and finishing as the Group J runner-up behind Italy. The successful qualifying campaign was aided by the distinguished performance of Teemu Pukki, who scored ten goals in ten qualifying matches. However, the tournament finals were postponed to the summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The second edition of UEFA Nations League started in autumn 2020, and Finland was drawn with Wales, Ireland and Bulgaria in Group 4. They defeated both Ireland and Bulgaria home and away, but lost both games against Wales, finishing 2nd in the group and missing out on promotion to the following season's League A.

On 12 June 2021, in the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament, Finland beat Denmark 1–0, with Joel Pohjanpalo scoring the only goal with a header to give his country their first goal and the first win in a major tournament finals. The game was interrupted by a heart attack suffered by Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen, which he survived. Unfortunately, after losing the next two games against Russia and Belgium, Finland finished third in the group and were knocked out at the group stage alongside fellow debutants North Macedonia.

Finland failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, even though Pukki continued his scoring streak with 6 goals in the qualifiers. They were drawn with France, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kazakhstan in the Group D, finishing 3rd and missing the second round qualification play-offs. The long-serving defenders Jukka Raitala, Paulus Arajuuri and Joona Toivio announced their retirement from international football after the qualifiers.

Having secured their spot in the Nations League B, Finland was drawn in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B Group 3 with Bosnia, Romania and Montenegro. They had two wins, two draws and two losses, and defended their place in League B again as the group's runners-up behind Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After qualifying for the previous European tournament, the team and the country had high hopes when starting the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. Finland started expectedly with an away loss to Denmark, but won the next three games in a row against Northern Ireland away in March, and Slovenia and San Marino at home in June, with zero goals conceded in the three games. They continued with an away win against Kazakhstan in September, but lost the next three games against Denmark at home, Slovenia away and Kazakhstan at home. The shocking loss to Kazakhstan occurred with two goals conceded late in the game after Finland had been leading 1–0. The defeat took away the possibility of direct qualification. Finland ended the qualifying campaign with two wins in the last two matches, including 4–0 victory over Northern Ireland at home in November, and finished third in the group. As they had placed among the best runner-ups in the previous Nations League, and with a help of overlapping results in other games, Finland had secured their place in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs. In March 2024, in the first decisive play-off match against Wales away, Finland were destroyed 4–1 and so failed to qualify for the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament.

After a run of mediocre results and having been seen as not realising the full potential of the team, speculations had started about the extension of Kanerva's contract. However, during Kanerva's seven-year spell, Finland had ascended in FIFA rankings and as of Summer 2024, were sitting at the 63rd place. The national team roster had undergone a relatively large renovation by Kanerva. He had successfully called up players from the younger generation, including Kaan Kairinen, Benjamin Källman, Oliver Antman, Daniel Håkans and Matti Peltola.

On 17 June 2024, after some ambiguous comments by the Finnish FA president Ari Lahti, it was announced by the FA that Markku Kanerva would continue as the manager of the team until the end of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification and for the possible final tournament. The assistant coaches Mika Nurmela and Toni Korkeakunnas would be replaced by Jani Honkavaara, and by former long-time national team players Teemu Tainio and Tim Sparv. Kanerva, with his new staff, was set to start preparing the team for the upcoming 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B, where Finland would face England, Ireland and Greece in Group 2, starting in September. Finland lost both games against Greece and England away with apathetic performances. According to Helsingin Sanomat, Kanerva was by that point only a puppet leader of the national team until the 2024 Veikkausliiga season finished, after which assistant coach Jani Honkavaara, also a current manager of Veikkausliiga club KuPS, would be named a sole head coach of the national team, although he then later allegedly declined the job offer. There was also a conflict of interest for Finnish FA president Ari Lahti, who was the owner of KuPS. Finland finished the Nations League campaign at the bottom of the group after six losses, with a 2–13 goal difference, and were relegated to League C. On 22 November 2024, the board of the Finnish FA released head coach Kanerva from his contract.

Jacob Friis (2025–present)

2026 FIFA Series match between New Zealand and Finland. Finland won 2–0 and would go on to win the 2026 New Zealand FIFA Series.

On 20 January 2025, the Finnish FA announced that Danish coach Jacob Friis had been named the new manager of the Finland national team, on a three-year deal with an option for the possible UEFA Euro 2028 final tournament. Friis led Finland in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, where they finished third in their group after Netherlands and Poland, with three wins, one draw and four losses. During the qualifiers, Friis called up players from the previous Finland U21 national team, which had qualified for the European final tournament in 2025. On 17 November, Teemu Pukki played his last international match for Finland and scored a goal in 4–0 friendly win against Andorra at Tammelan Stadion.

In late-March 2026, Finland attended the 2026 FIFA Series tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, where they won against the host nation 2–0 and drew with Cape Verde 1–1, eventually winning the mini-tournament. Naatan Skyttä was named the MVP of the tournament.

Home stadiums

Helsinki Central Station lantern carriers dressed in national colours during the 2020 European Championships in 2021

Finnish national team supporters at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in 2009

Most of Finland's home matches are played at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in the capital, Helsinki. It has been Finland's principal home stadium ever since its construction was completed in 1938. Before that, Pallokenttä in Helsinki was mainly used.

During 2000s and 2010s, some qualifying matches against lower profile opponents and some friendlies were hosted at the Tampere Stadium in Tampere, and Veritas Stadion in Turku. Helsinki's Bolt Arena, which has artificial turf, is also used for some friendlies and qualifiers. During the reconstruction of Helsinki Olympic Stadium between 2016 and 2020, Tampere Stadium served as the main stadium for qualifying games.

The team returned permanently to Helsinki Olympic Stadium in 2020, after a delayed reconstruction and renovation were finished, but had to play some of the first games without an audience due to the pandemic.

In the five home matches during the UEFA Euro 2024 qualification campaign, Huuhkajat had a record audience average of 31,406 (157,029 in total), which corresponds to around 97 per cent of the stadium's full capacity.

Kits and crest

Finland's home kit worn at 2008

Finland's home kit worn at UEFA Euro 2020

Finland's kit is currently supplied by American brand Nike. They replaced German company Adidas, who supplied Finland's kits between 1979 and 2013.

Kit sponsorship

Kit supplier	Period
Adidas	1979–2013
Nike	2014–present

Results and fixtures

Main article: Finland national football team results (2020-present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2025

Norway v Finland

4 September 2025 Friendly	Norway	1–0	Finland	Oslo, Norway
18:00 UTC+2	Haaland 17' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion Attendance: 18,665 Referee: Rob Hennessy (Republic of Ireland)

Poland v Finland

7 September 2025 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Poland	3–1	Finland	Chorzów, Poland
20:45 UTC+2	Cash 27' Lewandowski 45+2' Kamiński 54'	Report	Källman 88'	Stadium: Silesian Stadium Attendance: 50,897 Referee: Rade Obrenović (Slovenia)

Finland v Lithuania

9 October 2025 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Finland	2–1	Lithuania	Helsinki, Finland
21:45 UTC+3	Källman 48' Markhiyev 55'	Report	Širvys 25'	Stadium: Helsinki Olympic Stadium Attendance: 15,819 Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France)

Netherlands v Finland

12 October 2025 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Netherlands	4–0	Finland	Amsterdam, Netherlands
18:00 UTC+2	Malen 8' Van Dijk 17' Depay 38' (pen.) Gakpo 84'	Report		Stadium: Johan Cruyff Arena Attendance: 52,387 Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)

Finland v Malta

14 November 2025 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Finland	0–1	Malta	Helsinki, Finland
19:00 UTC+2		Report	Grech 81'	Stadium: Helsinki Olympic Stadium Attendance: 13,577 Referee: Julian Weinberger (Austria)

Finland v Andorra

17 November 2025 Friendly	Finland	4–0	Andorra	Tampere, Finland
19:00 UTC+2	Antman 18' Pukki 26' Pyyhtiä 68' Walta 90+2'	Report		Stadium: Tammelan stadion Attendance: 5,500 Referee: Joonas Jaanovits (Estonia)

2026

New Zealand v Finland

27 March 2026 2026 FIFA Series	New Zealand	0–2	Finland	Auckland, New Zealand
19:15 UTC+13		Report	Pohjanpalo 25' Oksanen 85'	Stadium: Eden Park Attendance: 17,603 Referee: Casey Reibelt (Australia)

Cape Verde v Finland

30 March 2026 2026 FIFA Series	Cape Verde	1–1 (4–2 p)	Finland	Auckland, New Zealand
16:00 UTC+13	Pires 67'	Report	Skyttä 45+4'	Stadium: Eden Park Attendance: 2,060 Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley (New Zealand)
	Penalties
	S. Cabral J. Cabral K. Pina Da Costa R. Mendes		Walta Valakari Keskinen Oksanen

Germany v Finland

31 May 2026 Friendly	Germany	4–0	Finland	Mainz, Germany
20:45 UTC+2	Undav 34', 57' Wirtz 48' Musiala 63'	Report		Stadium: Mewa Arena Attendance: 25,122 Referee: Matheus Candançan (Brazil)

Hungary v Finland

5 June 2026 Friendly	Hungary	2–1	Finland	Budapest, Hungary
20:45 UTC+2	Varga 26', 43'	Report	T. Miettinen 71'	Stadium: Puskás Aréna Referee: Ante Čulina (Croatia)

San Marino v Finland

26 September 2026 2026–27 Nations League	San Marino	v	Finland	Serravalle, San Marino
18:00 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: San Marino Stadium

Finland v Belarus

29 September 2026 2026–27 Nations League	Finland	v	Belarus	Helsinki, Finland
21:45 UTC+3		Report		Stadium: Helsinki Olympic Stadium

Finland v Albania

3 October 2026 2026–27 Nations League	Finland	v	Albania	Helsinki, Finland
16:00 UTC+3		Report		Stadium: Helsinki Olympic Stadium

Belarus v Finland

6 October 2026 2026–27 Nations League	Belarus	v	Finland	TBD
21:45 UTC+3		Report		Attendance: 0

Albania v Finland

12 November 2026 2026–27 Nations League	Albania	v	Finland	Tirana, Albania
20:45 UTC+1		Report		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare

Finland v San Marino

15 November 2026 2026–27 Nations League	Finland	v	San Marino	Helsinki, Finland
19:00 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Bolt Arena

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Jacob Friis
Assistant coach	Lars Stensgaard
	Vacant
Set-piece coach	Ábel Lőrincz
Goalkeeping coach	Jyri Nieminen
Video analyst	Henri Lehto
Fitness coach	Joni Ruuskanen
Physiotherapist	Ville Peltonen
Doctor	Heikki Kinnunen
Kit manager	Sami Miettinen
Team manager	Joonas Vilkki
Press officer	Timo Walden

Coaching history

As of 5 June 2026.

Tenure	Nat	Coach	Record
G	W	D	L	Win %
1911–21		None	17	6	2	9	035.29
1922		Jarl Öhman	4	1	0	3	025.00
1923–35		None	77	22	12	43	028.57
1936–37		Ferdinand Fabra	8	1	1	6	012.50
1937–38		None	9	3	0	6	033.33
1939		Gábor Obitz	6	1	0	5	016.67
1939–43		None	7	0	1	6	000.00
1945		Axel Mårtensson	2	0	0	2	000.00
1946		Niilo Tammisalo	3	0	0	3	000.00
1947–55		Aatos Lehtonen	51	7	9	35	013.73
1955–58		Kurt Weinreich	23	3	1	19	013.04
1959–61		Aatos Lehtonen	19	3	0	16	015.79
1962–74		Olavi Laaksonen	91	16	21	54	017.58
1975		Martti Kosma	2	0	1	1	000.00
1975–78		Aulis Rytkönen	30	8	4	18	026.67
1979–81		Esko Malm	27	4	6	17	014.81
1982–87		Martti Kuusela	53	9	11	33	016.98
1988–92		Jukka Vakkila	48	7	21	20	014.58
1993–94		Tommy Lindholm	25	5	7	13	020.00
1994–96		Jukka Ikäläinen	21	7	4	10	033.33
1996–99		Richard Møller Nielsen	34	9	12	13	026.47
2000–05		Antti Muurinen	72	34	12	26	047.22
2005		Jyrki Heliskoski (caretaker)	6	2	2	2	033.33
2006–07		Roy Hodgson	22	6	11	5	027.27
2008–10		Stuart Baxter	31	8	6	17	025.81
2010–2011		Olli Huttunen (caretaker)	1	1	0	0	100.00
2011		Markku Kanerva (caretaker)	2	0	1	1	000.00
2011–2015		Mixu Paatelainen	45	17	11	17	037.78
2015		Markku Kanerva (caretaker)	4	2	2	0	050.00
2016		Hasse Backe	11	0	2	9	000.00
2016–2024		Markku Kanerva	89	36	14	39	040.45
2025–		Jacob Friis	14	5	2	7	035.71
Total			822	207	169	446	025.18

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for friendly matches against Germany and Hungary on 31 May and 5 June 2026, respectively.
Caps and goals as of 5 June 2026, after the match against Hungary.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Lukas Hradecky (captain)	(1989-11-24) 24 November 1989	105	0	Monaco
12	1GK	Jesse Joronen	(1993-03-21) 21 March 1993	23	0	Palermo RET
23	1GK	Viljami Sinisalo	(2001-10-11) 11 October 2001	7	0	Celtic
4	2DF	Tony Miettinen	(2002-09-23) 23 September 2002	4	1	Mjällby
5	2DF	Miro Tenho	(1995-04-02) 2 April 1995	15	0	Djurgården
13	2DF	Rony Jansson	(2004-01-10) 10 January 2004	1	0	Kalmar
14	2DF	Ryan Mahuta	(2002-07-07) 7 July 2002	6	0	Pardubice
15	2DF	Samuli Miettinen	(2004-06-16) 16 June 2004	2	0	Istra 1961
17	2DF	Nikolai Alho	(1993-03-12) 12 March 1993	51	0	Asteras Tripolis
21	2DF	Ville Koski	(2002-01-27) 27 January 2002	11	0	Alavés
2	3MF	Matti Peltola (vice-captain)	(2002-07-03) 3 July 2002	25	0	D.C. United
3	3MF	Niklas Pyyhtiä	(2003-09-25) 25 September 2003	2	1	Modena
6	3MF	Leo Walta	(2003-06-24) 24 June 2003	14	1	Swansea City
8	3MF	Robin Lod	(1993-04-17) 17 April 1993	84	6	Chicago Fire
9	3MF	Santeri Väänänen	(2002-01-01) 1 January 2002	6	0	Rosenborg
11	3MF	Adam Markhiyev	(2002-03-17) 17 March 2002	9	1	1. FC Nürnberg
16	3MF	Anssi Suhonen	(2001-01-14) 14 January 2001	16	0	OB
25	3MF	Doni Arifi	(2002-04-11) 11 April 2002	2	0	Greuther Fürth
	3MF	Juho Kilo	(2002-06-23) 23 June 2002	0	0	ADO Den Haag
7	4FW	Oliver Antman	(2001-08-15) 15 August 2001	31	8	Rangers
10	4FW	Naatan Skyttä	(2002-05-07) 7 May 2002	6	1	1. FC Kaiserslautern
18	4FW	Topi Keskinen	(2003-03-07) 7 March 2003	13	0	Aberdeen
19	4FW	Benjamin Källman	(1998-06-17) 17 June 1998	38	10	Hannover 96
20	4FW	Joel Pohjanpalo (vice-captain)	(1994-09-13) 13 September 1994	89	19	Palermo
22	4FW	Daniel Håkans	(2000-10-26) 26 October 2000	14	4	Lech Poznań
24	4FW	Oiva Jukkola	(2002-05-21) 21 May 2002	4	0	Kairat
26	4FW	Casper Terho	(2003-06-24) 24 June 2003	3	0	Sparta Rotterdam

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last twelve months and are still available for selection.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Lucas Bergström	(2002-09-05) 5 September 2002	1	0	Mallorca	v. Andorra, 17 November 2025
DF	Juho Lähteenmäki	(2006-06-15) 15 June 2006	6	0	Nordsjælland	v. Germany, 31 May 2026 INJ
DF	Adam Ståhl	(1994-10-08) 8 October 1994	7	0	Djurgården	v. Germany, 31 May 2026 INJ
DF	Robert Ivanov	(1994-09-19) 19 September 1994	43	0	Asteras Tripolis	v. Andorra, 17 November 2025
DF	Jussi Niska	(2002-08-15) 15 August 2002	1	0	Inter Turku	v. Andorra, 17 November 2025
DF	Jere Uronen	(1994-07-13) 13 July 1994	75	1	Atromitos	v. Netherlands, 12 October 2025
DF	Juhani Pikkarainen	(1998-07-30) 30 July 1998	1	0	Degerfors	v. Netherlands, 12 October 2025
DF	Ville Tikkanen	(1999-08-10) 10 August 1999	1	0	HJK	v. Poland, 7 September 2025
MF	Fredrik Jensen	(1997-09-09) 9 September 1997	37	8	Aris	v. Germany, 31 May 2026 INJ
MF	Onni Valakari	(1999-08-18) 18 August 1999	15	1	San Diego FC	v. Cape Verde, 30 March 2026
MF	Jaakko Oksanen	(2000-11-07) 7 November 2000	3	1	Kairat	v. Cape Verde, 30 March 2026
MF	Kaan Kairinen	(1998-12-22) 22 December 1998	28	1	Sparta Prague	v. New Zealand, 27 March 2026 INJ
MF	Glen Kamara	(1995-10-28) 28 October 1995	70	2	Rennes	v. Poland, 7 September 2025
FW	Kasper Paananen	(2003-03-16) 16 March 2003	1	0	SJK	v. Cape Verde, 30 March 2026
FW	Adrian Svanbäck	(2004-06-08) 8 June 2004	0	0	Häcken	v. Netherlands, 12 October 2025
Notes ILL = Withdrew due to an illness INJ = Withdrew due to an injury PRE = Preliminary squad / standby RET = Retired from international duty SUS = Suspended WD = Withdrew due to a non-injury issue

Player records

Main article: List of Finland international footballers

As of 5 June 2026.

  Players still active are highlighted in blue

Most appearances

Jari Litmanen is Finland's most capped player with 137 appearances.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Jari Litmanen	137	32	1989–2010
2	Teemu Pukki	133	43	2009–2025
3	Jonatan Johansson	106	22	1996–2010
4
	Lukas Hradecky	105	0	2010–present
	Sami Hyypiä	105	5	1992–2010
6	Ari Hjelm	100	20	1983–1996
7	Joonas Kolkka	98	11	1994–2010
8	Joel Pohjanpalo	89	19	2012–present
9	Mikael Forssell	87	29	1999–2014
10
	Robin Lod	84	6	2015–present
	Erkka Petäjä	84	0	1983–1994
	Tim Sparv	84	1	2009–2021

Top goalscorers

Teemu Pukki is Finland's top scorer with 43 goals.

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Teemu Pukki	43	133	0.32	2009–2025
2	Jari Litmanen	32	137	0.23	1989–2010
3	Mikael Forssell	29	87	0.33	1999–2014
4	Jonatan Johansson	22	106	0.21	1996–2010
5	Ari Hjelm	20	100	0.2	1983–1996
6	Joel Pohjanpalo	19	89	0.21	2012–present
7	Mixu Paatelainen	18	70	0.26	1986–2000
8	Verner Eklöf	17	32	0.53	1919–1927
9	Aulis Koponen	16	39	0.41	1924–1935
	Gunnar Åström	16	44	0.36	1923–1937

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Campaign	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter									Declined invitation
1934										Did not enter
1938	Did not qualify									1938	3	0	0	3	0	7
1950	Withdrew during qualifying									1950	2	0	1	1	1	4
1954	Did not qualify									1954	4	0	2	2	7	13
1958										1958	4	0	0	4	2	19
1962										1962	4	0	0	4	3	12
1966										1966	6	1	0	5	5	20
1970										1970	6	1	0	5	6	28
1974										1974	6	1	1	4	3	21
1978										1978	6	2	0	4	11	16
1982										1982	8	1	0	7	4	27
1986										1986	8	3	2	3	7	12
1990										1990	6	1	1	4	4	16
1994										1994	10	2	1	7	9	18
1998										1998	8	3	2	3	11	12
2002										2002	8	3	3	2	12	7
2006										2006	12	5	1	6	21	19
2010										2010	10	5	3	2	14	14
2014										2014	8	2	3	3	5	9
2018										2018	10	2	3	5	9	13
2022										2022	8	3	2	3	10	10
2026										2026	8	3	1	4	8	14
2030	Future event									Future event
2034
Total		0/23									145	38	26	81	152	311

UEFA European Championship

Main article: Finland at the UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record											Qualifying record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Campaign	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Did not enter										Did not enter
1964
1968	Did not qualify										1968	6	0	2	4	5	12
1972											1972	6	0	1	5	1	16
1976											1976	6	0	1	5	3	13
1980											1980	6	2	2	2	10	15
1984											1984	6	0	1	5	3	14
1988											1988	6	1	1	4	4	10
1992											1992	8	1	4	3	5	8
1996											1996	10	5	0	5	18	18
2000											2000	8	3	1	4	13	13
2004											2004	8	3	1	4	9	10
2008											2008	14	6	6	2	13	7
2012											2012	10	3	1	6	16	16
2016											2016	10	3	3	4	9	10
2020	Group stage	17th	3	1	0	2	1	3	Squad		2020	10	6	0	4	16	10
2024	Did not qualify										2024 (PO)	11	6	0	5	19	14
2028	To be determined										To be determined
2032
Total	Group stage	1/17	3	1	0	2	1	3	—		—	125	39	24	62	144	186

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Season	Division	Group	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK
2018–19	C	2	1st	6	4	0	2	5	3		28th
2020–21	B	4	2nd	6	4	0	2	7	5		21st
2022–23	B	3	2nd	6	2	2	2	8	6		21st
2024–25	B	2	4th	6	0	0	6	2	13		32nd
2026–27	C	1
Total				24	10	2	12	22	27	21st

FIFA Series

FIFA Series record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2024	Did not enter
2026	Champions	2	1	1	0	3	1
Total		2	1	1	0	3	1

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
As Grand Duchy of Finland
1896	No football tournament was held
1900	Did not enter
1904
1908
1912	Fourth place	4th	4	2	0	2	5	16	Squad
Since 1917, Declaration of Independence
1920	Did not enter
1924
1928
1932	No football tournament was held
1936	Round of 16	14th	1	0	0	1	3	7	Squad
1948	Did not enter
1952	Round of 16	9th	1	0	0	1	3	4	Squad
1956	Did not enter
1960	Did not qualify
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980	Group stage	9th	3	1	1	1	3	2	Squad
1984	Did not qualify
1988
Since 1992	Olympic football has been an under-23 tournament
Total	Fourth place	4/17	9	3	1	5	14	29	—

Nordic Football Championship

Nordic Football Championship record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1929–32	Fourth place	4th	12	2	2	8	23	52
1933–36			12	3	1	8	18	36
1937–47			12	1	1	10	12	51
1948–51			12	1	3	8	11	28
1952–55			12	1	1	10	13	53
1956–59			12	0	1	11	8	44
1960–63			12	2	2	8	14	37
1964–67	Third place	3rd	12	5	2	5	14	17
1968–71	Fourth place	4th	12	0	4	8	10	31
1972–77			12	1	4	7	10	26
1978–80			6	1	4	7	10	26
1981–85			6	1	1	4	7	11
2000–01	Champions	1st	5	4	0	1	7	3
Total	1 Title	13/14	137	21	24	92	150	401

Baltic Cup

Baltic Cup record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2012	Runners-up	2	1	1	0	3	2
2014	Third place	2	1	0	1	2	1
Total		4	2	1	1	5	3

Head-to-head record

This list is Finland national team complete records, both friendlies and competitive matches.

As of 31 May 2026

Opponent	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
All Nations	832	219	171	442	975	1,711	−736	026.32

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	% Won
Albania	7	4	1	2	8	6	+2	057.14
Algeria	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00
Andorra	3	2	1	0	7	0	+7	066.67
Armenia	6	5	1	0	11	1	+10	083.33
Austria	11	1	2	8	11	24	−13	009.09
Azerbaijan	8	7	0	1	15	5	+10	087.50
Bahrain	5	4	1	0	9	1	+8	080.00
Barbados	1	0	1	0	0	0	+0	000.00
Belarus	5	2	3	0	7	4	+3	040.00
Belgium	12	4	4	4	19	22	−3	033.33
Bermuda	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
Bolivia	2	0	1	1	2	5	−3	000.00
Bosnia and Herzegovina	7	2	2	3	11	12	−1	028.57
Brazil	3	0	0	3	3	9	−6	000.00
Bulgaria	10	2	1	7	7	20	−13	020.00
Cape Verde	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Cameroon	2	0	1	1	0	2	−2	000.00
Canada	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1	100.00
Chile	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00
China	4	1	0	3	7	6	+1	025.00
Colombia	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	000.00
Costa Rica	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Croatia	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Cyprus	4	2	1	1	7	4	+3	050.00
Czech Republic	11	3	3	5	14	22	−8	027.27
Denmark	62	12	10	40	62	155	−93	019.35
East Germany	7	2	1	4	8	21	−13	028.57
Ecuador	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	000.00
Egypt	2	0	0	2	2	4	−2	000.00
England	14	0	2	12	8	45	−37	000.00
Estonia	38	18	10	10	79	45	+34	047.37
Faroe Islands	5	5	0	0	14	1	+13	100.00
France	11	1	0	10	5	22	−17	009.09
Georgia	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	050.00
Germany	24	1	6	17	19	86	−67	004.17
Greece	20	6	3	11	22	34	−12	030.00
Honduras	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Hungary	18	3	3	12	12	47	−35	016.67
Iceland	14	7	3	4	21	15	+6	050.00
India	2	1	1	0	2	0	+2	050.00
Iraq	2	0	0	2	0	3	−3	000.00
Israel	5	2	1	2	6	6	+0	040.00
Italy	15	1	1	13	8	36	−28	006.67
Japan	2	0	0	2	1	7	−6	000.00
Jordan	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Kazakhstan	7	5	1	1	9	3	+6	071.43
Kosovo	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	050.00
Kuwait	7	3	2	2	6	5	+1	042.86
Latvia	17	10	3	4	32	18	+14	058.82
Liechtenstein	5	3	2	0	9	3	+6	060.00
Lithuania	7	4	1	2	19	8	+11	057.14
Luxembourg	5	4	0	1	12	4	+8	080.00
Malaysia	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Malta	10	6	2	2	15	6	+9	060.00
Mexico	4	0	1	3	2	7	−5	000.00
Moldova	4	2	1	1	7	5	+2	050.00
Montenegro	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4	100.00
Morocco	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	050.00
Netherlands	16	1	2	13	14	49	−35	006.25
New Zealand	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
North Korea	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100.00
North Macedonia	6	3	2	1	12	3	+9	050.00
Northern Ireland	11	5	2	4	18	12	+6	045.45
Norway	68	9	17	42	82	183	−101	013.24
Oman	6	3	3	0	7	2	+5	050.00
Peru	1	0	0	1	3	7	−4	000.00
Poland	35	4	8	23	32	86	−54	011.43
Portugal	11	1	4	6	8	18	−10	009.09
Qatar	4	1	3	0	4	3	+1	025.00
Republic of Ireland	9	2	2	5	5	14	−9	022.22
Romania	13	0	5	8	6	29	−23	000.00
Russia	21	1	5	15	13	67	−54	004.76
San Marino	6	6	0	0	23	2	+21	100.00
Saudi Arabia	4	2	1	1	7	4	+3	050.00
Scotland	9	0	3	6	7	20	−13	000.00
Serbia	10	2	2	6	10	32	−22	020.00
Singapore	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
Slovakia	4	0	1	3	1	6	−5	000.00
Slovenia	4	2	1	1	5	4	+1	050.00
South Korea	3	0	0	3	0	5	−5	000.00
Spain	8	1	2	5	5	16	−11	012.50
Sweden	91	11	11	69	96	299	−203	012.09
Switzerland	6	2	0	4	7	10	−3	033.33
Thailand	5	1	1	3	6	12	−6	020.00
Trinidad and Tobago	5	3	1	1	8	7	+1	060.00
Tunisia	3	2	1	0	6	2	+4	066.67
Turkey	15	6	4	5	22	24	−2	040.00
United Arab Emirates	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Ukraine	4	0	1	3	3	6	−3	000.00
United States	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2	000.00
Uruguay	2	0	0	2	1	8	−7	000.00
Wales	16	4	5	7	14	25	−11	025.00
Yemen	1	0	1	0	0	0	+0	000.00
Total	831	219	170	442	974	1,710	−736	026.35

Honours

Regional

• Baltic Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2012
  • Third-place (1): 2014
• Nordic Football Championship
  • Champions (1): 2000–01
  • Third place (1): 1964–67

Friendly

• King's Cup
  • Runners-up (2): 2000, 2013
• Cyprus International Football Tournament
  • Champions (1): 2005
• FIFA Series
  • Champions (1): 2026

See also

• Finland men's national under-21 football team
• Finland men's national under-19 football team
• Finland men's national under-18 football team
• Finland men's national under-17 football team
• Finland men's national under-16 football team
• Finland women's national football team
• Finland women's national under-20 football team
• Finland women's national under-17 football team
• Football in Finland
• Finnish "Workers" football team
• Åland official football team
• Sápmi football team

External links

• Official website (in Finnish)
• Finland at FIFA
• Finland at UEFA
• RSSSF archive of results 1911–present
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
• RSSSF archive of coaches
• The Finnish National Team Supporters' Association
• Reports for all official matches