Finland beats Canada

[Bxl Boy]

Finland 3-2 Canada

Three goals in 18 minutes set up Finland for a 3-2 win over Canada on Saturday in the first match ever played between the two countries.

First-half goals by striker Mikael Forssell, midfield player Joonas Kolkka and Teemu Tainio had Canada reeling. It could have been more but Canadian keeper Pat Onstad managed to save short-range efforts from Forssell and Kolkka. Canada came out with three strikers in the second half and with Dwayne de Rosario from the San Jose Earthquakes creating a spark up front they looked the livelier side.

When defender Sami Hyypiä was substituted in the 56th minute, Canada's pressure mounted and in the 74th minute striker Tomasz Radzinski made it 3-1 after beating the offside trap. De Rosario scored again for Canada in the 85th minute, also beating the offside trap, but the Finns held on to win.