"We need to play carefully in defense": how did Finland prepare for the game with the Russian team in the World Cup semifinal

On the eve of the Finnish national team in tense struggle prevailed over the team of Sweden and held its last match at the Still Arena in Kosice. Starting from the semifinal stage, all the fights are taking place in Bratislava, so the wards of Jukka Jalonen had to overcome about 400 km on the way to the capital of Slovakia.

Perhaps it was with a long way that the hockey players of Suomi started their work at the Andrei Nepela Arena very late.

Numerous journalists from Russia and Finland had to wait for the appearance of the wards of Jukka Jalonen for a total of almost an hour. The Finnish team was not in a hurry to the ice after arriving at the Arena. Future rivals of the Russian national team at first paid attention to the work in the hall, after which they played for half an hour playing football.

Only after that the Finnish national team appeared on the ice, but did not conduct the bulk of the training in full force.

Marko Anttila, one of the main creators of the quarterfinal victory over the Swedes, and Chicago Blackhawks defender Henry Yokiharju, were particularly notable among those who appeared on the site, but the main attention of journalists was focused on Kaapa Kakko. In the course of the tournament, the 18-year-old child prodigy managed to become one of the most discussed participants of the championship, so he was forced to constantly feel the views of the media.

In general, the occupation on the ice took no more than 20 minutes, after which the athletes and the coach paid attention to the press.

"Russian team looks powerful"

Yukka Yalonen, who for 20 minutes calmly and intelligibly answered questions from the Finnish media, was the first to speak with journalists. After that, the coach took the time and representatives of the rival country, spoke about the strengths of the "red car" and remembered the historic match eight years ago. Then the teams also met at the semifinal stage at the World Championships in Bratislava - the success was accompanied by representatives of Finland.

“We are waiting for a completely different game than the one that was here many years ago. And she will be very hard. Of course, we understand that Russia is very strong and is the favorite in this match. But they can also falter, because the team has a tremendous responsibility. With such a composition and such ambitions, Russian hockey players play under constant pressure and have no right to make mistakes. If they do not win, the houses will look very bad, ”Yalonen estimated the pre-match layouts.

Mentor of the Finnish team also admitted that it would be difficult to surprise the coaching staff of the Russian team with his tactical decisions for the match. According to Yalonen, he is well acquainted with the style of play of the Russian team.

“They know how we play, and we know how they play, so there will be an equal fight. Yes, Russia has very good performers, a strong defense and a great majority, but we know how to stop them. Remember, on the Eurotrip before this World Cup, we were stronger, so that now we can repeat our success! You just need to play, believe in yourself, and demonstrate your best qualities. In the course of this tournament, my guys have already proved that they can fight with strong rivals, ”said the Finnish expert.

In addition, Jalonen answered numerous questions about the difference in class and the skill of the players. The coach said that the absence of eminent and stellar performers in the current composition of the Finnish national team does not have a negative impact on his team.

“It's not a bad thing that many NHL stars did not come to the national team this year, we have enough players from the Finnish league and from the KHL in the team without them. Yes, sometimes it is difficult to be in this situation, but if you focus on your game, then there will be no problems. We have Kakko, he plays great. In the match with Sweden I brought a lot of benefits and I hope I can score in the gates of the Russian team! ”, The coach concluded.

Kaapo Kakko himself expressed confidence that his team is able to go through the Russian team and become a member of the World Cup decisive match. According to the young striker, the victory over the current world champions - the Swedish team, instilled in him and his partners confidence in their abilities.

“If we play with the Russian national team the way we played with the Swedes, we will win!” And this is despite the fact that Russia really has a very strong team made up of real stars not only in the NHL, but also in the world. But personally, I am impressed by Nikita Kucherov as a member of the opponent, I will single out him, I really like the way he plays. As for my game, for unexplained reasons for myself, I stopped scoring ... The puck just does not go through the gate, I hope to fix it, ”the striker of the Finnish team told reporters.

The last to the journalists was the captain of the Finnish national team Marco Anttila. The forward confirmed that on the eve of the game with Russia his team is on an emotional upturn and told about the qualities that will help to win the semifinal match.

“We just have to play carefully in defense. Acting reasonably, because the Russian team has not suffered a single defeat and look really powerful. But I believe that we can win! Much will depend on how the first minutes of the match pass, in no case should you miss a quick goal. For my part, I promise to show the best game, I will be active and will definitely try to score, ”the Finnish forward shared his plans for the match.