Euro 2025: Kosola’s goal secures Finland’s 1-0 win over Iceland in tournament opener
Euro 2025: Kosola’s goal secures Finland’s 1-0 win over Iceland in tournament opener
Finland ‘s Katariina Kosola, center, celebrates after scoring her side’s first goal during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Iceland’s Sveindis Jonsdottir reacts after the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (Alessandro della Valle)/Keystone via AP)
Finland ‘s Katariina Kosola, left, scores during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (Anthony Anex/Keystone via AP)
Finland fans celebrate at the end of the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Iceland’s Glodis Viggosdottir sits on the pitch after an injury during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025.. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Finland players celebrate after the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Finland ‘s Katariina Kosola, center, celebrates after scoring her side’s first goal during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Finland ‘s Katariina Kosola, center, celebrates after scoring her side’s first goal during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Iceland’s Sveindis Jonsdottir reacts after the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (Alessandro della Valle)/Keystone via AP)
Iceland’s Sveindis Jonsdottir reacts after the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (Alessandro della Valle)/Keystone via AP)
Finland ‘s Katariina Kosola, left, scores during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (Anthony Anex/Keystone via AP)
Finland ‘s Katariina Kosola, left, scores during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (Anthony Anex/Keystone via AP)
Finland fans celebrate at the end of the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Finland fans celebrate at the end of the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Iceland’s Glodis Viggosdottir sits on the pitch after an injury during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025.. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Iceland’s Glodis Viggosdottir sits on the pitch after an injury during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025.. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Finland players celebrate after the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Finland players celebrate after the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Arena Thun in Thun, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
THUN, Switzerland (AP) — After missing three earlier chances, Katariina Kosola scored in the 70th minute to give Finland a 1-0 victory over Iceland in the opening game of the Women’s European Championship on Wednesday.
Kosola cut in from the left flank to curl a rising right-footed shot into the net and fully take advantage of Iceland having a player sent off 12 minutes earlier.
In the first half, the 24-year-old Kosola forced Iceland goalkeeper Cecilía Rúnarsdóttir into a diving save and fired two more shots just over the crossbar.
Iceland’s own left winger Sveindís Jónsdóttir, who will join Angel City in the United States after the tournament, missed with a clear chance to level the game in the 75th. Jónsdóttir also went close deep into stoppage time.
Iceland went down to 10 players in the 58th when midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir was shown a second yellow card for a dangerous tackle.
Finland’s 16-year wait
Both teams had failed to win a game at each of their previous two Euros tournaments.
“The result is important for our confidence,” Kosola said after Finland ended a winless run that stretched to Euro 2009. “It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot. I had a couple of chances in the first half.”
Finland’s win is a strong move in Group A, which has no clear standout team and is widely seen as the most finely balanced at the 16-nation tournament.
Norway later joined Finland on three points, beating host Switzerland 2-1 in Basel after the official on-field opening ceremony for what was the second of 31 games in total. Basel hosts the final on July 27.
Iceland’s frustration
“It’s terrible to lose and we feel frustrated,” Iceland coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson said in comments reported by UEFA. “It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn’t good enough.”
Iceland also was hurt by having captain and star defender Glódís Viggósdóttir slowed by a stomach illness before being replaced at halftime, rather than a knee injury that forced her to missed playing time in Bayern Munich’s German league and cup-winning season.
“I’ve had it for a few days. I tried to play with it but couldn’t,” Viggósdóttir said.
Swiss heat wave
Euro 2025 started with two Nordic teams playing in the heat wave that had Switzerland sweltering since before the squads arrived in the Alpine nation.
It had cooled to 81 degrees Fahrenheit (27 Celsius) for the 6 p.m. kickoff in Thun as electric storms threatened nearby. It was just 52 degrees (11 C) and cloudy in Iceland’s capital Reykjavik though 73 degrees (23 C) in Helsinki.
Finland last won a game at the Women’s Euro in 2009, while Iceland had drawn 1-1 in each of its three group-stage games at Euro 2022 and lost all three at the 2017 edition.
Jónsdóttir’s fast-driving runs and long throw-ins were a regular threat, and two of Iceland’s most dangerous attacks were denied by Finland defender Emma Koivisto blocking the ball.
Finland defender Natalia Kuikka, who plays for Chicago Stars, said the last 15 minutes had been “pretty chaotic. At the end, Iceland were just coming at us, so it honestly didn’t feel like they were missing a player.”
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer