The two teams at the bottom of League B Group 3 in the UEFA Nations League will lock horns on Friday evening, as Finland welcome Romania to Helsinki.
Finland are currently third in the section, having collected four points from their opening four matches, while Romania are fourth, one point behind their opponents heading into this contest.
Finland finished second in League B Group 4 during the 2020-21 campaign, which kept them in League B, but they are facing the possibility of relegation to League C depending on what happens this month.
The Eagle-owls, who have never qualified for the finals of a World Cup, are currently third in their Nations League section, having picked up just four points from their opening four games.
Finland are only one point ahead of Romania, meaning that a defeat on Friday would leave them vulnerable ahead of their final game in the section against Montenegro on September 26.
Markku Kanerva’s side picked up four points from their first two games against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro, but they have lost their last two against Romania and Bosnia respectively.
Finland have also lost six of their last seven games against Romania, including a 1-0 defeat in the reverse fixture back in June, but they will be hoping that home advantage counts for something on Friday night.
Romania are currently at the foot of the group with just three points from four matches, meaning that a defeat on Friday would see them relegated to League C with one game left to play.
The Tricolours are bidding to make it back-to-back campaigns in League B, having earned promotion from League C at the end of the 2018-19 season.
Romania actually qualified for three World Cups between 1990 and 1998, but they have not been involved in the finals of the competition since and will not be present at the 2022 edition.
Edward Iordanescu’s side started their current Nations League campaign with back-to-back defeats to Montenegro and Bosnia before recording a 1-0 victory over Finland on June 11.
Romania will enter this game off the back of a comprehensive defeat, though, having lost 3-0 at home to Montenegro on June 14, with Stefan Mugosa scoring a hat trick for the visitors.
Finland Nations League form:
DWLL
Finland form (all competitions):
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Romania Nations League form:
LLWL
Romania form (all competitions):
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We say: Finland 1-1 Romania
Romania’s only points in this group have come against Finland, but this will be a different proposition for Iordanescu’s side on their travels. A point would be a better result for Finland considering how Group 3 is shaping up, and we are expecting the two teams to share the spoils on Friday night.