Kanerva sacked as head coach of Finnish Nat´l football team

The Finnish Football Association (Suomen Palloliitto -SPL) on Friday decided to terminate Markku Kanerva as the head coach the men's national team, said the association in a press release.

The association at a meeting took the decision following the poor performance of the team in the Nations League where Finland lost all six matches.

The team scored just two goals and conceded 13 in the Nations League.

The meeting also decided to appoint a new head coach by mid-January.

President of the Finnish Football Association, Ari Lahti said that although it was a difficult decision to release Kanerva from his position, there was no option considering the situation.

Kanerva signed a new contract with the team in the summer to continue as the head coach until the 2026 World Cup but the authority had to cancel the contract due to lack of significant improvement in the Nations League, Lahti said.

Kanerva had been discharging his duty as the head coach of Finnish national men´s football team since 2017.

He made history by taking Finland to the final round of the European Championships for the first time in 2021.