National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10302 (Terracing: 7727, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) Osmo Ripatti made the kick off and thus started the match. Reino Piekkanen was out of position in the 5 minute of play, and Claude De Wever capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Claude De Wever really showed his touch with that goal: 1-0. An unexpectedly hard shot by Tarmo Vehmanen in the 8th minute of play forced U21 Belgium's goalkeeper Jordi Huyberechts to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 10th minute of the match, Claude De Wever got a very nice opportunity to score, but Reino Piekkanen was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. Petri Alatalo made in the 14th minute of the game a sloppy throw-in which Tarmo Vehmanen however managed to control. 18 minutes into the game, U21 Belgium's Bernd Van de Goor nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Reino Piekkanen made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 2-0. In the 21st minute, Karel-Jan Andriesens hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Jordi Huyberechts made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Osmo Ripatti in the 23rd minute of play. The audience thought a goal was coming when Claude De Wever got free with Reino Piekkanen in the 24th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Claude De Wever's late challenge caught a U21 Finland's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Claude De Wever helped the player get up and apologised. Claude De Wever kicked well hit freekick during the 32nd minute of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Bernd Van de Goor in the 34th minute of play forced U21 Finland's goalkeeper Reino Piekkanen to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Bernd Van de Goor spun around in front of the goal 34 minutes in the game, and got away a shot that, to his disappointment, went to the left of U21 Finland's goal. Reino Piekkanen made an important save on a dangerous shot by Claude De Wever in the 38th minute. In the 41st minute Bernd Van de Goor 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. After 42 minutes, Petri Alatalo mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the U21 Finland and the U21 Belgium players grew even worse after the yellow card. After a rather tough play, U21 Finland's Petri Alatalo got a free kick in the 42nd minute. U21 Belgium's Jordi Huyberechts played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Einari Pelttari in the 45th minute of play. In the 46th minute, Claude De Wever hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 2-0 at half-time.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Claude De Wever to make the kick off. In the 53rd minute Claude De Wever 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. Reino Piekkanen took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Claude De Wever, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. If Einari Pelttari had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 55th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Tommi Riihijärvi hit a great freekick 58 minutes into the match. Reino Piekkanen took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Claude De Wever, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. When Einari Pelttari came up free with the goalie in the 64th minute, the U21 Finland fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Einari Pelttari couldn't finish the play. U21 Finland's Ernesti Kuokkanen was substituted for Einari Pelttari. Reino Piekkanen made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Bernd Van de Goor in the 68th minute of play. Bernd Van de Goor kicked well hit freekick during the 70th minute of the match. U21 Belgium's Fulgencio Falcão was substituted for Claude De Wever. U21 Belgium's Silvain Van den Haute was substituted for Bernd Van de Goor. U21 Finland's Kepa Anush was substituted for Osmo Ripatti. Bernd Van de Goor hit a great freekick 72 minutes into the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Silvain Van den Haute in the 74th minute of play forced U21 Finland's goalkeeper Reino Piekkanen to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 75 minutes of play, U21 Belgium's Silvain Van den Haute made it 3-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Reino Piekkanen was left in no man's land by his defense there! U21 Finland's Kari Ryynänen was substituted for Petri Saastamoinen. 84 minutes into the game, U21 Belgium's Fulgencio Falcão nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Reino Piekkanen made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 4-0. After a defensive mix-up in U21 Finland's zone, Fulgencio Falcão stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Reino Piekkanen came out of the goal and Fulgencio Falcão tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. U21 Finland's Reino Piekkanen played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Fulgencio Falcão in the 91st minute of play. Tarmo Vehmanen recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 94th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. U21 Finland's players left the field with heads hung low after losing a match that had been finely balanced throughout.