With neither side qualifying for this year's World Cup, Finland and Nordic neighbours Iceland meet in sunnier climes on Saturday, at Murcia's Estadio Nueva Condomina.

While the Finns finished qualifying on a largely positive note, their counterparts concluded their campaign in ignominious fashion, so will want to start building for the future.

Match preview

Finland's Fredrik Jensen in action with Wales' Thomas Alun Lockyer on September 1, 2021 © Reuters

Following June's major tournament debut at Euro 2020 - in which they were eliminated at the group stage - Finland continued their Qatar 2022 qualification campaign during the autumn, but were to ultimately come up short.

A pair of wins over Kazakhstan and victory in Bosnia were not enough to seal a playoff spot, due to two defeats against France and October's crucial home loss to Ukraine.

Dreams of a first World Cup appearance to back up their Euros adventure may have come to an end, then, but now Markku Kanerva's men will now start looking towards next season's Nations League campaign.

The Eagle-owls have been drawn alongside Bosnia, Romania and Montenegro in League B Group 3, so can have realistic ambitions of promotion to Europe's top tier if they continue their recent trajectory.

First, though, they enjoy a get-together in the Spanish springtime, as after they meet Iceland this weekend, next Tuesday they take on Slovakia.

Iceland's Kari Arnason looks dejected after the match on March 25, 2021 © Reuters

Ranked three places below their local rivals in the latest FIFA World Rankings, 60th-placed Iceland have endured some painful lows over recent months, as memories of a miraculous run at Euro 2016 continue to fade.

With just one victory in very nearly a year, Arnar Vidarsson's side took just a point from two meetings with North Macedonia in World Cup qualifying and were beaten 4-0 at home by Germany last September.

Their underwhelming efforts in Group J saw Iceland finish fifth in the section behind Armenia - nine points adrift of the playoff spot.

Only twelve goals in their 10 fixtures tells the tale of their campaign, and some of the old guard have now been phased out ahead of the upcoming challenge - a Nations League group featuring Israel, Albania and, at least theoretically, international pariahs Russia.

In their most recent gathering, an experimental side were defeated 5-1 by South Korea in a January friendly, just days after drawing 1-1 with African minnows Uganda. Now, Vidarsson has recalled several players to tackle Finland and next week's opponents, Spain.

Finland form (all competitions):

Iceland form (all competitions):

Team News

Finland coach Markku Kanerva on May 29, 2021 © Reuters

Markku Kanerva has omitted several players from the Finland squad which lost to France back in November, as defensive duo Joona Toivio and Paulus Arajuuri have both retired from international football, as has former captain Tim Sparv.

Jukka Raitala was suspended for the final matchday of World Cup qualifying and remains out of the squad this time around, while four potential debutants have been called up for the trip to Spain.

Striker Teemu Pukki - his nation's all-time top scorer with 33 goals from 100 caps - will lead the line in Murcia, with Bayer Leverkusen's Lukas Hradecky providing an experienced last line of defence.

Meanwhile, Iceland have also seen a raft of retirements cause an evolution of their squad, with goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson and Ari Freyr Skulason among those making way for a new generation.

Midfield mainstay Birkir Bjarnason remains, but only one other player is aged over 30 in Arnar Vidarsson's selection, as Genoa forward Albert Gudmundsson and Real Madrid's Andri Gudjohnsen - son of joint-top international scorer Eidur Gudjohnsen - take centre stage.

Finland possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Uronen, L. Vaisanen, Ivanov, O'Shaughnessy; Kamara, Lod, Schuller; Pohjanpalo, Pukki, Forss

Iceland possible starting lineup:
Runarsson; Sampsted, Magnusson, Gretarsson, Barkarson; Traustason, Bjarnason, Thordarson; Gudmundsson, A. Gudjohnsen, Thorsteinsson

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We say: Finland 2-0 Iceland

Both nations are undertaking the process of changing the guard, so this friendly encounter will give their respective coaches a chance to embed some younger players.

It is Iceland who have the bigger rebuild on their hands, so Finland can take advantage of weakened opponents to register another win.

Top tip

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