Ten-man Finland rekindled their hopes of reaching the 2022 World Cup final with a 3-1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in their Group D qualifier on Saturday, when a spectacular performance in an upbeat atmosphere gave them a lifeline. .
The result left the Finns second in the group with 11 points from seven matches, one behind leaders and world champions France, who will host Kazakhstan later on Saturday. Third-placed Ukraine has nine points while Bosnia has seven points.
Bosnia missed two chances before their goalkeeper Ibrahim Cehik saved a Temu Pukki penalty in the 25th minute when Miralem Pjanic handled a long-range effort in the field, but the visitors took the lead four minutes later.
Pukki made amends for his poor spot-kick as he delivered a good low cross with Glenn Kamara and Bosnian Anel Ahmedhodzik to Finland’s Marcus Forss after a one-two to clear the threat from the back of the net.
The visitors sent defender Jukka Raitala with a straight red card for a poor tackle on Seed Kolasinac in the 37th minute, who went on a limp and was replaced by Emedin Demirovic.
A more sluggish defense allowed Finland to double their lead in the 52nd minute as Pukki was given time and space to pull the ball back to Robin Laud, who rifled a fierce shot from 10 meters inside the near post.
The home side pulled back once in the middle of the second half when Luca Menallo swung a cross into the roof of the net by fellow substitute Aamer Gojak, but their hopes of a comeback were dashed by another defensive error in the 73rd minute.
Defender Danielle O’Shaughnessy tapped the ball from three meters when a long cross from the right went straight into his path of a stagnant Bosnian defense, prompting home fans to mock his team’s poor performance.
The Bosnians, who can no longer qualify for next year’s tournament in Qatar, are in their last match at home to Ukraine on Tuesday when Finland hosts France. The winners of the group qualify for the finals while the runners-up advance to the playoffs.
(Written by Zoran Milosavljevic; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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