Fresh off signing for Liverpool, Finnish wing-back Emma Koivisto was ecstatic to have participated in her side’s thrilling match-up against Group B favourites Spain in Milton Keynes on Friday night.
Despite a 4-1 scoreline in favour of La Roja, the Finnish side surprised all in attendance at Stadium MK with their rapid start, scoring only 49 seconds into the match against all odds.
Koivisto’s smile told all when discussing the opener, she said “It was something we dreamt of. Last night when we went to sleep, we were like yeah, we’re going to score and we did it in the first minute. That was a super good feeling.
“It’s a great way to start a game, it gave us some confidence but Spain were very good today and we didn’t manage to keep the score. I think we did everything we could, we fought really hard and stuck together as a team. Now we just have to keep our heads up and think about the next game.”
Koivisto’s teammate Linda Sällström was the architect of the opener, bursting down the right before delivering an inch-perfect strike into the bottom left pocket of the goal. The crowd’s response matched the quality of the goal; erupting into a Scandinavian roar, those adorned with Finland flags and scarves hadn’t even had a chance to sit down.
“It was great,” the defender added when praising the travelling support. “I was super emotional seeing all the Finnish and also the other fans, they were great, supporting us all the way. During the whole game, we could hear them, they gave us strength.
“Before the game, we got so many messages from people in Finland and around the world, they were supporting us, and we really feel that. We just want to make everybody proud.”
Despite being used to English crowds after Koivisto spent 18 months at The People’s Pension Stadium in the blue and white of Brighton & Hove Albion, the atmosphere was surely another extreme for the wing-back.
Finland had predicted over 1,500 fans coming from their home country 1,700 miles away to support the group, which ultimately made-up part of the record-breaking crowd. In total, 16,819 people attended the game, a UEFA Women’s EURO record for a group stage game not including a host nation.
Reflecting on the growth of the game, Koivisto glowed “It’s great to be part of it all because the women’s game is developing so fast, and to be able to bring Finland to the EUROs….hopefully now there will be lots of little girls starting to play football in Finland and being inspired by us.
“It’s a great time to be involved in women’s football now, it’s just growing so fast.”
Finland’s next match is against Denmark in Milton Keynes on Tuesday.
By James McCormick