Russia secured their first win of Euro 2020 with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Finland in Saint Petersburg.
Aleksey Miranchuk put the hosts ahead in first-half injury time with a fine, curling finish, despite being surrounded by defenders in their Euro 2020 tie.
Finland would have secured their spot in the last 16 of Euro 2020 with a win. They thought they had taken the lead early on but Joel Pohjanpalo’s header was ruled out for offside.
The result leaves both sides on three points before their final Group B matches on Monday in what is proving to be an exciting group.
Finland, competing in their first major finals, beat Denmark 1-0 on Saturday in a match that made headlines as Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch.
Before Wednesday’s game, all the Finnish squad wore T-shirts saying ‘Get well Christian’.
Eriksen is currently recovering in hospital after suffering cardiac arrest.
Pohjanpalo scored Finland’s goal in the opener and thought he had his second goal of Euro 2020. He got between two Russian defenders to head home. The ball came in from a Jukka Raitala cross inside three minutes.
However, with the help of the video assistant referee (VAR), Pohjanpalo was ruled to be marginally offside and the goal did not stand.
Finland did not create much
Russia then had the best chances and got a deserved goal. Miranchuk, surrounded by four Finnish defenders, managed to shift the ball onto his left foot and curl an effort past Lukas Hradecky.
Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki had a rare chance for Finland in the second half. However, he could only shoot tamely at Russia goalkeeper Matvey Safonov who easily held onto the ball.
The hosts continued to look the more likely of the two sides to score. Aleksandr Golovin and Rifat Zhemaletdinov both should have done better and kept their shots on target.
The last round of group matches takes place on 21 June with Russia facing Denmark in Copenhagen and Finland meeting the world’s #1 ranked side Belgium in Saint Petersburg.
