For most of Exeter City’s players, the international break will give them a weekend off as they get a chance to rest and recover. But for two of the squad, it will be a massive and potentially career-defining week.
Ilmari Niskanen and Vil Sinisalo are both in the Finland squad who are aiming to book their place at Euro 2024. The duo are desperate to make the championships in Germany, but their nation will have to battle through the play-offs to do so.
Firstly Finland will travel to Cardiff on Thursday night to take on Wales. The winner of that tie, will then host either Poland or Estonia on Tuesday.
The Netherlands, France and Austria await the winners of play-off path A. And the Finnish duo would love to be on the plane to Germany this summer, but know it will be tough to get past the opposition, starting with a Welsh side that includes former Grecians academy graduate Ethan Ampadu.
“I am looking forward to it, and it will be one of the biggest games of my career, if not the biggest,” Niskanen, who has 16 caps for his country said after Saturday’s 1-0 win over Burton Albion for Exeter. “Wales away on Thursday is a massive game for the whole country and everyone in Finland will be watching that.
“I need to recover for this and then focus on it, as it is a massive game, but even better to be going onto this after winning. All eyes are on beating Wales.”
“It will be tough but is doable,” Sinisalo, who has two caps for Finland, added. “But it would be a dream come true to be in the side and then on the plane to Germany.”
Finland made their major tournament debut at Euro 2020, where they narrowly missed out on a place in the last 16 after finishing third in their group. Markku Kanerva’s side will be hoping to make it a second successive Euros.
The third of City’s players who have been called up for international duty, and thus enabled Saturday’s trip to Leyton Orient to be postponed, is teenager Luke Harris. But the Welshman will be very much hoping for the opposite result and that his nation books their spot in the Euros. The 19-year-old is in the Wales U21 squad who on Friday host Lithuania in a Uefa U21 European Championship qualifier. Yanic Wildschut and Mo Eisa have also been called up by Suriname and Sudan respectively.
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