Finland focused on future
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
Article summary
An experimental Finland side recorded a win and a defeat on their two-game tour of the United States.
Article body
Identical scores
Antti Muurinen's team won 2-1 against Honduras in Houston, Texas on 17 November but were then beaten by Costa Rica two days later. Goals from Teemu Tainio and Rami Hakanpaa gave the Scandinavians a two-goal cushion against Honduras, and the Finns held on despite Edgar Alvarez halving the deficit three minutes from time.
Nurmela not enough
It was a different story against Costa Rica, though, as the 2002 FIFA World Cup finalists showed their experience in recording a 2-1 triumph. Luis Marín gave the Central Americans the lead after 15 minutes and, although Mika Nurmela brought Finland level two minutes past the hour, Alvaro Saborio scored what proved to be the winning goal with 18 minutes left.
'Marvellous tour'
Nevertheless, Muurinen – who took an experimental squad on tour – was happy with his team's progress. "This has given much needed experience to every player," said the Finland coach. "It was a marvellous tour - and I am not just looking at the results here. We brought many young players with us, and this kind of week with two hard games is invaluable. We need more games like these to be able to fulfil our dreams in the near future."
