Finland v Republic of Ireland |
Wed 21 August | 1800 BST
New Irish skipper Jason McAteer has promised to become `Captain Sensible' in Helsinki's Olympic Stadium on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Sunderland midfielder has been given the armband by manager Mick McCarthy to mark his 50th appearance for his country.
It is a day many thought would never come as McAteer contemplated international retirement after a frustrating World Cup which almost saw him flown home with a knee injury before the tournament began.
The move is also a recognition for a new-found maturity even the player himself did not believe was possible.
"Over the years I have always liked to be among the activities off the pitch," he said.
"I have tried to have a laugh and keep people going through the bad times. I have even loved being the butt of so many jokes.
"But I have grown up a lot. Younger players are starting to ask my advice and I enjoy that.
I wish all the talk about Roy Keane would go away, but it won't 
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Mick McCarthy |
"I never expected to reach 50 caps and to be made captain is another dream come true. Mick knows I will handle it sensibly."
Even at the end of Ireland's summer campaign McAteer was talking earnestly about quitting the international scene.
However, now he admits there were other factors clouding his mind and once he returned home his opinion soon changed.
"We were away from home a long time, which followed on from actually living away from home most of the week after moving to Sunderland," he said.
"The pre-season was coming up and I was disappointed about picking up another injury.
"There were a lot of things going through my mind but once I sat down and talked it through with the right people, I quickly changed my mind.
"We are on the brink of something great and I want to be part of it."
McCarthy is treating the game as vital preparation for next month's Euro 2004 qualifier with Russia.
 McAteer's World Cup was blighted by injury
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Finland collected home draws against England and Germany during their World Cup qualifying campaign and fancy their own chances of making the final stages in Portugal.
Liverpool duo Sami Hyypia and Jari Litmanen will both start for them, the latter desperately trying to impress Anfield boss Gerard Houllier enough to give him a game.
Bolton's Jussi Jaaskelainen and Hearts stopper Antti Niemi will probably be given half a game each in goal.
And, although Ireland have nine of the line-up who started their second round shoot-out defeat to Spain in the summer, a succession of injuries forced McCarthy to travel with a much-depleted squad.
Newcastle central defender Andy O'Brien is one of those who missed the journey, as did Manchester City's Richard Dunne and new Birmingham striker Clinton Morrison.
Niall Quinn, Steve Staunton and Alan Kelly have retired while the spectre of Roy Keane, in self-imposed exile until such time as McCarthy is no longer in charge, still looms large.
"I wish all the talk about Roy Keane would go away, but it won't," said McCarthy.
"It will probably go on for a long time but it is not distracting me from my job."
There should be a debut for McAteer's Sunderland team-mate Tommy Butler, the young midfielder drafted in from the Under-21 squad on Monday.
WCQ = World Cup Qualifier
F = Friendly International
HEAD TO HEAD MATCH TOTALS
| All | FIN | IRE | Drawn |
| Total mtgs | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| WCQ | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| F | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
FIXTURE HISTORY
| DATE | | COMP | MATCH | | RESULT |
| 08 Sep | 1950 | WCQ | Rep Ireld | 3-0 | Finland |
| 09 Oct | 1949 | WCQ | Finland | 1-1 | Rep Ireld |
| 16 May | 1990 | F | Rep Ireld | 1-1 | Finland |
| 14 Nov | 2000 | F | Rep Ireld | 3-0 | Finland |
MOST RECENT MEETING
| REPUBLIC OF IRELAND 3-0 FINLAND |
| Friendly - Lansdowne Rd, Dublin - 15 November, 2000 |
Rep Ireland scorers:
Finnan 14, Kilbane 84, Staunton 90 |
| Rep Ireland team: Given, Kelly G (McAteer 46), Harte (Staunton 46), Finnan, Breen, Dunne, Kinsella, Holland, Robbie Keane (Connelly 90), Foley (Carsley 46), Kilbane. |
| Finland team: Jaaskelainen, Nylund, Pasanen (Nurmela 78), Tihinen, Saarinen, Johansson (Kuqi 46), Tainio (Kuivasto 66), Riihilahti, Kolkka (Kottila 85), Litmanen, Forssell (Gronlund 46). |
| Ref: Paul Durkin - Att: 22,368 |
FINLAND
2001/2002 RESULTS
| DATE | COMP | MATCH | | RESULT | |
| 2 Jun | WCQ | Finland | 2-2 | Germany | D |
| 15 Aug | F | Finland | 4-1 | Belgium | W |
| 01 Sep | WCQ | Albania | 0-2 | Finland | W |
| 5 Sep | WCQ | Finland | 5-1 | Greece | W |
| 06 Oct | WCQ | Germany | 0-0 | Finland | D |
| 04 Jan | F | Bahrain | 0-2 | Finland | W |
| 07 Jan | F | Finland | 1-1 | Albania | D |
| 10 Jan | F | Finland | 3-0 | Macedonia | W |
| 20 Mar | F | Finland | 0-2 | S Korea | L |
| 27 Mar | F | Portugal | 1-4 | Finland | W |
| 17 Apr | F | Macedonia | 1-0 | Finland | L |
| 22 May | F | Finland | 2-1 | Latvia | W |
MOST RECENT MATCH
| FINLAND 2-1 LATVIA |
| Friendly - 22 May, 2002 |
| Finland scorers: Riihilahti, Pasanen |
| Finland team: Niemi (Jaaskelainen 46), Pasanen, Saarinen, Hyypia, Tihinen, Riihilahti (Kuivasto 90), Nurmela (Kopteff 61), Gronlund (Hietanen 69), Johansson (Kuqi 46), Litmanen (Valakari 90), Kolkka (Roiha 78). |
| Att: 8,617 |
FINLAND SQUAD
| PLAYERS NAME - | D O B | - CLUB - | Caps | Gls |
| Goalkeepers |
| Jussi Jaaskelainen | 17.04.75 | Bolton W | 9 | 0 |
| Antti Niemi | 31.05.72 | Hearts | 52 | 0 |
| Peter Enckelman | 10.03.77 | Aston Villa | 3 | 0 |
| Defenders |
| Hannu Tihinen | 01.07.76 | Anderlecht | 27 | 2 |
| Toni Kluivasto | 31.12.75 | Viking Stav | 30 | 0 |
| Sami Hyypia | 07.10.73 | Liverpool | 45 | 1 |
| Janne Saarinen | 28.02.77 | Rosenborg | 15 | 0 |
| Juha Reini | 19.03.75 | AZ Alkmaar | 18 | 0 |
| Petri Pasanen | 24.09.80 | Ajax | 8 | 1 |
| Midfielders |
| Mike Numela | 26.12.71 | Heerenveen | 31 | 0 |
| Aki Riihilahti | 09.09.76 | Crystal Pal | 37 | 7 |
| Peter Kopteff | 10.04.79 | Viking Stav | 4 | 0 |
| Teemu Tainio | 27.11.79 | Auxerre | 13 | 1 |
| Jari Ilola | 24.11.78 | HJK | 10 | 1 |
| Joonas Kolkka | 28.09.74 | Panathin'kos | 40 | 9 |
| Forwards |
| Jari Litmanen | 20.02.71 | Liverpool | 77 | 21 |
| Jonatan Johansson | 16.08.75 | Charlton A | 43 | 9 |
| Shefki Kuqi | 10.11.76 | Sheff Wed | 24 | 3 |
| Mika Kottila | 22.09.74 | HJK | 23 | 6 |
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
2001/2002 RESULTS
| DATE | COMP | MATCH | | RESULT | |
| 02 Jun | WCQ | Rep Ireland | 1-1 | Portugal | D |
| 06 Jun | WCQ | Estonia | 0-2 | Rep Ireland | W |
| 15 Auh | F | Rep Ireland | 2-2 | Croatia | D |
| 01 Sep | WCQ | Rep Ireland | 1-0 | Holland | W |
| 06 Oct | WCQ | Rep Ireland | 4-0 | Cyprus | W |
| 10 Nov | WCQ | Rep Ireland | 2-0 | Iran | W |
| 15 Nov | WCQ | Iran | 1-0 | Rep Ireland | L |
| 13 Feb | F | Rep Ireland | 2-0 | Russia | W |
| 27 Mar | F | Rep Ireland | 3-0 | Denmark | W |
| 17 Apr | F | Rep Ireland | 2-1 | U S A | W |
| 16 May | F | Rep Ireland | 1-2 | Nigeria | L |
| 01 Jun | WC | Rep Ireland | 1-1 | Cameroon | D |
| 05 Jun | WC | Germany | 1-1 | Rep Ireland | D |
| 11 Jun | WC | S Arabia | 0-3 | Rep Ireland | W |
| 16 Jun | WC | Spain | 1-1 | Rep Ireland | D |
| | AET - Spain won 3-2 on pens |
MOST RECENT MATCH
SPAIN 1-1 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
|
| After extra time - Spain won 2-1 on penalties |
| World Cup - Second Round - 16 June, 2002 |
| Rep Ireland scorer: Robbie Keane (90, pen) |
| Rep Ireland: Given, Finna, Harte (Connolly 82), Kinsella, Breen, Staunton (Cunningham 49), Klely G (Quinn 54), Holland, Robbie Keane, Duff, Kilbane. |
| Ref: Anders Frisk - Att: 38,926 |
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND SQUAD
| PLAYERS NAME - | D O B | - CLUB - | Caps | Gls |
| Goalkeepers |
| Shay Given | 20.04.76 | Newcastle U | 43 | 0 |
| Nick Colgan | 19.09.73 | Hibernian | 1 | 0 |
| Dean Kiely | 10.10.70 | Charlton A | 6 | 0 |
| Defenders |
| Gary Breen | 12.12.73 | Unattached | 46 | 6 |
| Kenny Cunningham | 28.06.71 | Birm'gham | 40 | 0 |
| Richard Dunne | 21.09.79 | Man City | 14 | 3 |
| Steve Finnan | 20.04.76 | Fulham | 19 | 1 |
| Ian Harte | 31.08.77 | Leeds U | 44 | 8 |
| Gary Kelly | 09.07.74 | Leeds U | 50 | 2 |
| Andy O'Brien | 29.06.79 | Newcastle U | 5 | 0 |
| Stephen Carr | 29.08.76 | Tottenham | 18 | 0 |
| Gary Doherty | 31.01.80 | Tottenham | 9 | 1 |
| Midfielders |
| Lee Carsley | 28.02.74 | Everton | 20 | 0 |
| Matt Holland | 11.04.74 | Ipswich T | 23 | 4 |
| Kevin Kilbane | 01.02.7 | Sunderland | 37 | 3 |
| Mark Kinsella | 12.08.72 | Charlton A | 32 | 3 |
| Jason McAteer | 18.06.71 | Sunderland | 49 | 3 |
| Steven Reid | 10.03.81 | Millwall | 7 | 2 |
| Colin Healy | 14.03.80 | Celtic | 3 | 0 |
| Rory Delap | 06.07.76 | South'mpton | 7 | 0 |
| Stephen McPhail | 09.12.79 | Leeds U | 4 | 1 |
| Forwards |
| David Connolly | 06.06.77 | Wimbledon | 34 | 8 |
| Damien Duff | 02.03.79 | Blackburn | 29 | 2 |
| Robbie Keane | 08.07.80 | Leeds U | 37 | 13 |
| Clinton Morrison | 14.05.79 | Crystal Pal | 7 | 2 |
| Richard Sadlier | 14.01.79 | Millwall | 1 | 0 |
MATCH SHORTS
Republic of Ireland defend an unbeaten record against Finland.
Manager Mick McCarthy thinks this will be a good work out for the Republic ahead of their Euro 2004 Group Ten campaign, which kicks off in Russia on 7 September.
Finland are in Group Nine, and set out at home to Wales.
Finland failed to reach the World Cup Finals by finishing one place and five points lower than runners-up England in their European Qualifying Group.
The Republic finished second in Group Two and qualified by beating Iran in a Play Off over two legs.
McCarthy's side, without the 'sent home' skipper Roy Keane, drew 1-1 with Cameroon and Germany and finished runners-up in Group Two after a 3-0 victory over Saudi Arabia. A late, late penalty took the second round match against Spain into extra time, but the Irish then missed out in a penalty shoot-out. 
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