Under-21 Group D: Finland vs Netherlands facts

Finland's first UEFA European Under-21 Championship fixture in 16 years pits them against Netherlands in the first round of Group D games at the Košice Football Arena.

This is Finland's first finals game since their sole previous appearance in 2009, when they were unable to pick up a point. Netherlands have qualified for a third successive tournament for the first time and will hope to improve on their 2023 campaign, when they were unable to progress from the group stage.

Group D is completed by Ukraine and Denmark.

Previous European U21 Championship meetings

Matches 8
Finland wins 0
Netherlands wins 7
Draws 1
Finland goals 5
Netherlands goals 20

Netherlands have won the last seven competitive fixtures between the teams, most recently recording 2-0 home and 1-0 away victories in the 2011 qualifying competition.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Robin van Persie were among the scorers as the Dutch won 4-1 at home to Finland in a qualifier for the 2006 finals; Huntelaar got both goals in a subsequent 2-1 away success, including a 90th-minute winner.

Ronald de Boer was on target in Netherlands' 7-1 win in Finland in June 1991; Arthur Numan was also on the scoresheet having got the only goal in Utrecht two months earlier.

Finland drew 1-1 at home to Netherlands in a qualifier for the 1990 tournament; having lost 2-1 in their subsequent fixture in Heerenveen, that remains the only time they have avoided defeat in a competitive match against the Dutch.

The teams' last meeting was a 2-0 Netherlands win in a March 2017 friendly thanks to second-half goals from Jeremiah St. Juste and Pelle van Amersfoort.

Form guide

Finland

Finland's sole previous finals appearance came in 2009, when they lost all three games in a group also including England (1-2), Germany (0-2) and Spain (0-2).

The Finns were third in their qualifying section behind Norway and Croatia as they missed out on the 2023 finals.

This time round, a team coached by Mika Lehkosuo – appointed in January 2023 – claimed 20 points, Finland's record tally, to finish second in Group E behind Romania (W6 D2 L2). They then beat Norway 6-3 on aggregate in the play-offs (5-1 h, 1-2 a).

Otso Liimatta was Finland's top scorer in qualifying with seven goals.

Netherlands

Netherlands have reached the final tournament for the eight time, although only the fourth since claiming back-to-back titles in 2006 and, as hosts, 2007.

In 2023 a team coached by Erwin van de Looi drew all three games to finish third in Group A behind co-hosts Georgia and Portugal.

That was only the second final tournament in which Netherlands had failed to progress from the group stage and the first since 2000.

Now coached by Michael Reiziger, Netherlands were the first side to qualify for the 2025 finals and finished with the only 100% record, their 30 points leaving them 11 points above Group C runners-up Georgia.

Reiziger's side conceded only three goals, less than any other side.

Noah Ohio was the Jong Oranje's top scorer in qualifying with seven goals.

Links and trivia

Have played in Netherlands:
Juho Talvitie (Heracles Almelo 2024–)
Tomas Galvez (Cambuur 2025 loan)

Between 1992 and 1996, Reiziger was an Ajax team-mate of Jari Litmanen – Finland's most-capped international with 137 appearances.