Finland U17 vs Latvia U17

Finland took control inside 20 minutes when Emil Ahola opened the scoring, and Joel Ahen doubled the lead three minutes before half-time. Latvia pulled one back through Kristaps Zvilna in first-half stoppage time (44'), making it 2-1 at the interval.

Any hopes of a Latvia comeback were extinguished in the second half. Ruslan Haapalainen restored the two-goal cushion in the 66th minute, Kevin Jarju made it 4-1 five minutes later, and Luka Lehtonen completed the scoring in the 87th minute to round off a comprehensive victory.

Latvia had momentum after Zvilna's goal just before the break, but Haapalainen's strike in the 66th minute — the first goal of a decisive three-goal second-half salvo inside 21 minutes — killed the contest. Finland's fitness and depth told as the game opened up.

• Emil Ahola — the KäPa midfielder opened the scoring in the 20th minute and controlled the tempo from midfield after returning from injury that had kept him out of the UEFA Development tournament in May.
• Kevin Jarju — the FC Honka forward scored Finland's fourth and was a constant threat throughout. He also scored in Finland's 1-1 draw with Lithuania two days earlier.
• Luka Lehtonen — the Ilves attacker capped the performance with a late finish in the 87th minute.

The 5-1 scoreline reflected Finland's superiority in the second half especially. After a tighter first period (2-1), Finland scored three unanswered goals after the break. The Baltic Cup standings show the competitiveness of the tournament: Latvia won the title with six points (2-0-1), while Finland finished second with five points (1-2-0), ahead of Lithuania (4 points) and Estonia (1 point). Finland's previous results — 0-0 vs Estonia and 1-1 vs Lithuania — meant they needed a big win, and they delivered.

Finland U17 finished the Baltic Cup in second place with five points, behind tournament winners Latvia. The Minihuuhkajat next turn their attention to the PM-turnaus (Nordic Championship) in August, with November's U17 European Championship qualifiers as the primary target for 2026. Head coach Ossi Virta, who had named several new faces including debutants Kasper Lind, Eetu Siltanen and Onyekachi Obi for this tournament, will have been encouraged by the attacking output. Latvia, who beat Lithuania 5-1 and Estonia 3-0 earlier in the competition, won the Baltic Cup title.

Finland's quality in the final third proved decisive as they overwhelmed Latvia after half-time. The scoreline might have been closer than the one-sided 5-1 suggests for the first hour, but Virta's side showed the ruthlessness that had been missing in their draws with Estonia and Lithuania. A promising sign ahead of European qualification later this year.