The head coach of the Finnish national team, Ola Lindgren, has selected his squad for the World Championship qualification. With two matches scheduled in March, Finland will face Lithuania in a battle for a spot in the next phase of the qualifying rounds.
Finland is contending for a place in the next round of qualifiers by facing Lithuania twice in March. The teams will first meet at the Energia Arena in Vantaa on March 14th, followed by a match in Lithuania on March 17th. The winner of this series will advance to the final qualifying round where Hungary awaits as the opponent.
– We have almost all players with us. Gusten Montonen has been absent for a long time and is not part of the team, and it’s uncertain whether Thorsteinn Gauti Hjalmarsson will be able to play, and it remains to be seen if he will recover in time to playing condition. At the moment, the situation is good, and hopefully, it will remain so, says Lindgren to the Finnish Handball Federation’s website.
Finland’s team for the matches against Lithuania:
Mikael Mäkelä, Hammarby, SWE
Patrik Roslander, GrIFK
Benjamin Helander, Alingsås HK, SWE
Linus Lindberg, HK Varberg, SWE
Max Granlund, Alingsås HK, SWE
Thorsteinn Gauti Hjalmarsson, Fram, ISL
Robin Granlund, Eskilstuna Guif, SWE
Oliver Nordlund, BK-46
Miska Henriksson, BK-46
Jonathan Ekman, BK-46
Richard Sundberg, GrIFK
Fredrik Von Troil, Stralsunder HV, GER
Roni Syrjälä, Dicken
Kalle Kankaanpää, GrIFK
Viktor Grönmark, HIFK
Santeri Vainionpää, Riihimäen Cocks
Source: The Finnish Handball Federation