Wales v Finland
Finland qualified for the first major tournament in their history by reaching the 2020 UEFA European Championships finishing as runners-up in their group behind Italy and ahead of Greece and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Suomen Palloliitto (SPL) was formed in 1907, becoming members of FIFA in 1908 and were founder members of UEFA in 1954.
Finland's first official international game was a 2-5 defeat at home to Sweden in a friendly match in October 1911 and the country made its competitive debut during the 1912 Summer Olympic Games with a 3-2 victory over Italy in Idrottsplats, Sweden; a tournament in which they lost 9-0 to the Netherlands in the Bronze Medal match.
The first competetive game between Wales and Finland came in 1971 as part of the qualifying campaign for Euro 1972.
Finland were Wales' opponents for the first ever international football match at the Millennium Stadium and Ethan Ampadu became the youngest Welshman to win 50 caps for his country in the Euro 2024 Play Off semi final on 21 March 2024.
Head to Head
| P | W | D | L | F | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 10 |
| Away | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 |
| ALL | 16 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 25 | 14 |
Match details
| no. | date | score | scorers (wales) | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 297 | 26/05/1971 | Finland 0-1 Wales | Toshack | Olympiastadion, Helsinki | ECQ |
| 298 | 13/10/1971 | Wales 3-0 Finland | Durban, Toshack, Rees | Vetch Field, Swansea | ECQ |
| 403 | 10/09/1986 | Finland 1-1 Wales | Slatter | Olympiastadion, Helsinki | ECQ |
| 405 | 01/04/1987 | Wales 4-0 Finland | Rush, Hodges, D Phillips, Jones | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | ECQ |
| 415 | 19/10/1988 | Wales 2-2 Finland | Saunders (pen), o.g. | Vetch Field, Swansea | WCQ |
| 419 | 06/09/1989 | Finland 1-0 Wales | Olympiastadion, Helsinki | WCQ | |
| 490 | 29/03/2000 | Wales 1-2 Finland | Giggs | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | Fr |
| 507 | 07/09/2002 | Finland 0-2 Wales | Hartson, Davies | Olympiastadion, Helsinki | ECQ |
| 515 | 10/09/2003 | Wales 1-1 Finland | Davies | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | ECQ |
| 568 | 28/03/2009 | Wales 0-2 Finland | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | WCQ | |
| 574 | 10/10/2009 | Finland 2-1 Wales | Bellamy | Olympiastadion, Helsinki | WCQ |
| 608 | 16/11/2013 | Wales 1-1 Finland | King | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff | Fr |
| 662 | 03/09/2020 | Finland 0-1 Wales | Moore | Olympiastadion, Helsinki | NL |
| 669 | 18/11/2020 | Wales 3-1 Finland | Wilson, James, Moore | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff | NL |
| 679 | 01/09/2021 | Finland 0-0 Wales | Olympic Stadium, Helsinki | Fr | |
| 708 | 21/03/2024 | Wales 4-1 Finland | Brooks, Williams, Johnson, D James | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff | ECQ |
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Welsh players to have made their debut against Finland
Eleven Welsh players have made their international debut against Finland. Trevor Hockey, the son of former rugby union scrum-half, Albert Hockey, was born in England after his father moved to play Rugby League for Keighley. Hockey became the first player born outside Wales to play international football for Wales when making his debut against Finland at the Vetch, Swansea in 1971.
- Malcolm Page (1971)
- Raymond Mielczarek (1971)
- Phillip Jones (1971)
- Brian Evans (1971)
- Trevor Hockey (1971)
- Martin Thomas (1986)
- Andy Jones (1986)
- Gavin Maguire (1989)
- Gareth Roberts (2000)
- Dylan Levitt (2020)
- Neco Williams (2020)
- Ben Cabango (2020)
