Four fresh faces in the squad as Finland look to keep World Cup dream alive

Tony Miettinen in action for Finland at under-21 level

Finland head coach Jacob Friis has included four new names in his squad for this month's 2026 World Cup qualifiers, as the Eagle Owls look to resurrect their hopes of making it to the tournament for the first time.

Two defenders - runaway Swedish league leaders Mjallby centre-back Tony Miettinen, and FC Nordsjaelland full-back Juho Lahteenmaki - plus Kaiserslautern midfielder Naatan Skytta and striker Adrian Svanback from Hacken have all been named.

All four have previous experience with Finland at Under-21 level, but this will be their maiden chance to impress at senior level.

The fresh look to the squad does not end there, as Leo Walta and Casper Terho, both of whom made their debuts in 2024, return to the set-up.0

However, there is still room for experience, with Teemu Pukki, Robin Lod and Joel Pohjanpalo among those selected once more.

Friis will be hoping the new and returning names spark some life into Finland's hopes of qualifying for the World Cup. After a bright start that saw Finland lead the group, defeat to Poland in September has seen them drop to third, three points behind both the Poles and the Netherlands.

A home match against Lithuania on Thursday 9th October is a must-win, as on Sunday 12th Finland will make the unenviable trip to Amsterdam to face the Dutch.

Goalkeepers: Jesse Joronen,0Viljami Sinisalo,0Lucas Bergstrom

Defenders: Robert Ivanov, Miro Tenho, Ville Koski, Tony Miettinen, Jere Uronen, Nikolai Alho, Adam Stahl, Juho Lahteenmaki, Matti Peltola

Midfielders: Adam Markhiev, Santeri Vaananen, Leo Walta, Anssi Suhonen, Kaan Kairinen, Naatan Skytta,0Oliver Antman,0Topi Keskinen,0Oiva Jukkola

Forwards: Joel Pohjanpalo,0Benjamin Kallman,0Teemu Pukki,0Adrian Svanback, Casper Terho,0Robin Lod