The opening match of the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 saw a piece of history get made.
Finland beat Iceland 1-0 as the tournament got underway and despite a lack of goals, there were plenty of shots.
Katariina Kosola’s goal gave Finland the three pointsAFPIn total, the two teams racked up a whopping 29 shots combined during the game, with Finland having 16 and Iceland 13.
And that amount of efforts broke a record in the competition.
Since Opta stats began in 2011, there hasn’t been an opener at a women’s World Cup or Euros with more shots with 29 coming in the first fixture of the tournament.
UEFA will hope that the tournament beginning with a history-making bang, sets it up to be a successful few weeks this summer.
It was the perfect start for Finland, who, thanks to the winning goal from Katariina Kosola, won their first Euros game since 2009.
The Finnish national side had been on an eight-game winless run, which was actually started by England 15 years ago.
Their last win at a European Championship came against Denmark in their home tournament opener in Helsinki.
Kosola beautifully found the top corner from the left-hand side of the penalty area to secure a rare three points.
The goal came after Iceland captain Hildur Antonsdottir was shown a second yellow card and sent off just before the hour mark.
Finland’s victory saw them take top spot in Group A, although Norway will overtake them at the time of writing as they lead 2-1 against tournament hosts Switzerland.
Finland ended a miserable 16-year drought with their winGetty It was a hard-fought 1-0 win over IcelandGettySpeaking after the match, manager Marko Saloranta said: “It’s been 16 years since Finland last won at a major tournament, when the Women’s EURO was played in Finland in 2009.
“Since then, we’ve had no victories at the 2013 and 2022 tournaments. I’m very satisfied to start with three points.”
Saloranta added: “We had chances in the first half that we should have scored from. Iceland are a fantastic team and good from set pieces, so I’m very satisfied with us defending those very well.
“The last ten or 15 minutes were not that satisfying – we made the victory a little bit nervy because we were so cautious. That’s not the way we want to end the game.
“We have two games left; we haven’t gone through but, with only three games in the group, a victory in the first game is a big step towards the knockout stage.”
Finland and Iceland kicked off the 2025 Women’s Euro that will now be running through until the final on July 27.
Finland also face Switzerland and Norway in Group AAFPThe Lionesses will begin their tournament on Saturday against France, while Wales take on the Netherlands on the same day.
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