Despite an emerging reputation, Finland have yet to secure a
spot in the finals of a FIFA World Cup™. In qualifying for the
France 1998, the Nordic side narrowly missed out on a place in
the play-offs, finishing their qualifying group campaign a point
behind Hungary in third place.  In 2002, the Finns found
themselves in a tough group. Even though they racked up two
draws against the eventual FIFA World Cup™ runners-up Germany,
they finished third in their group behind England and Germany.
The lack of success is all the more puzzling given the high-
calibre stars available to the Scandinavians both in the past
and the present, including the likes of Jari Litmanen, Sami
Hyypia, Mikael Forssell, Joonas Kolkka and Petri Pasanen. The
Finns are certainly a side always capable of springing a
surprise.  The Finns finished fourth in their Germany 2006
qualifying group. Then coach Jyrki Heliskoski blooded a clutch
of talented youngsters in the campaign, but the plan backfired
and Finland surrendered all the points on