National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) Osmo Ripatti made the kick off and thus started the match. Hakim Rouyer made an important save on a dangerous shot by Tarmo Vehmanen in the 4th minute. In the 8th minute of the match U21 France got a corner. U21 Finland's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Boris Valette ran over to the corner to take the kick. The throw-in from Petri Alatalo in the 13th minute of the game was unfortunally taken care of by U21 France's Manuel Foulquier. Osmo Ripatti received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 15th minute. Hakim Rouyer tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Reino Piekkanen took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Denis Baranger, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 21st minute Denis Baranger shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Reino Piekkanen saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Einari Pelttaris short, quick shot in the 23rdth minute got Hakim Rouyer to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. After a rather tough play, U21 France's Carl Medjani got a free kick in the 25th minute. After a rather tough play, U21 France's Sony Anderson got a free kick in the 29th minute. 33 minutes into the game, Boris Valette cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-1. Reino Piekkanen was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. 37 minutes into the match, U21 France's goal looked a bit too open when Einari Pelttari came free, but Hakim Rouyer reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 39th minute of the match U21 Finland got a corner. U21 France's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Urmas Kuparinen ran over to the corner to take the kick. In the 43rd minute, Denis Baranger made a precise shot to the right of Reino Piekkanen. U21 Finland's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-2. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-2.

U21 France made a substitution. Robert Vermorel replaced Denis Baranger. Manuel Foulquier charged in rather forcefully in the 58th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Manuel Foulquier the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After a rather tough play, U21 France's Manuel Foulquier got a free kick in the 58th minute. In the 61st minute of the match, Robert Vermorel tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Reino Piekkanen saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Tarmo Vehmanen in the 63rd minute of play forced U21 France's goalkeeper Hakim Rouyer to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Tarmo Vehmanen recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 68th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. U21 Finland made a substitution. Ernesti Kuokkanen replaced Einari Pelttari. An unexpectedly hard shot by Osmo Ripatti in the 73rd minute of play forced U21 France's goalkeeper Hakim Rouyer to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. U21 France's Blaise Bellet was substituted for Nicholas Brody. The supporters of U21 Finland booed when U21 France was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 81 match minutes in a wonderful position. Jackson Branchu didn't get a good kick on the ball. With a little luck, U21 Finland's Reino Piekkanen got control of the ball when Sony Anderson tried to sneak it across the goal line. With a little luck, U21 Finland's Reino Piekkanen got control of the ball when Sony Anderson tried to sneak it across the goal line. Reino Piekkanen made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Mehdi Koenig in the 88th minute of play. In the 92nd minute, Robert Vermorel ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Reino Piekkanen was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-3. Hakim Rouyer showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ernesti Kuokkanen in the 96th minute of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Tarmo Vehmanen in the 97th minute of play forced U21 France's goalkeeper Hakim Rouyer to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The U21 France supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing U21 France would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.