© Richard Wareham / Imago
Sports Mole previews Monday’s International Friendlies clash between Finland and Andorra, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
After both nations had their exit from World Cup 2026 Qualifying confirmed this week, Finland and Andorra clash in an international friendly on Monday, November 17.
Recovering from their respective disappointment will be the focus for both teams heading into their final match of this international break.
Match preview
Finland’s slim hopes of making it to the UEFA World Cup playoffs were dashed when they were stunned 1-0 by Malta at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.
The Scandinavian country needed three points and hope for Poland to lose their final game of Qualifying, but they are now firmly set in third place in Group G with nowhere to go.
Jacob Friis was brought in as manager at the start of 2025 to replace Markku Kanerva, who sat in the hot seat for almost eight years.
However, the decision to bring Friis in has not yielded a change in fortunes, as Finland are still seeking only their second-ever appearance at a major tournament.
The Danish-born manager has overseen nine games, five of which he lost, while the Eagle-owls won only three under his guidance.
The one positive that the hosts have going for them is that they have never lost a game to Andorra, but those two head-to-heads took place over 20 years ago.
Andorra have had a poor World Cup Qualifying campaign, far worse than Monday’s hosts, as they will finish bottom of Group K.
Despite failing to win a single game, the Tricolours have proven to be an extremely stubborn outfit that are difficult to break down, even for the best of teams.
In this qualifying campaign, they lost to England by scorelines of 1-0 and 2-0, and yet again were beaten 1-0 by Albania in their previous outing.
They conceded an average of two goals per game, but their defensive resilience is commendable, which is what coach Koldo Alvarez will be depending on in this encounter.
Finland form (all competitions):
WLLWLL
Andorra form (all competitions):
LLDDLL
Team News
Finland have said farewell to one of their best-ever exports, Teemu Pukki, who decided to hang up his international boots after the World Cup Qualifying campaign.
The former Norwich City man goes out as the national team’s all-time highest goalscorer, which is a huge loss for the home side.
Daniel Hakans will not be available for selection after undergoing surgery, which is the primary injury concern for coach Friis.
The visitors have a full-strength squad for the friendly match, giving Alvarez the ability to rotate his team.
It remains to be seen if the coach brings in defender Joel Guillen, who recently served a suspension for two bookable offences but was left out of the previous matchday squad altogether.
Moises San Nicolas was the most capped player in the visitors’ side the last time out, as he anchors the team ahead of veteran Marc Vales.
Finland possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Alho, Ivanov, Tenho, Koski, Lahteenmaki; Antman, Kairinen, Lod, Keskinen; Walta
Andorra possible starting lineup:
Gomes; Borra, Olivera, Llovera, Garcia, San Nicolas; Rosas, Babot, Rebes, Cervos; Lopez
We say: Finland 0-0 Andorra
Both teams are in a funk at the moment, and the visitors are difficult to break down, meaning that the hosts could have another long night in store for them.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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