Belarus vs Finland

Belarus edged Finland 1-0, with the game effectively decided before fans had settled into their seats. Artem Shumansky's blistering strike from the edge of the box, arriving inside the opening minute, proved the only moment of real quality either side managed. The goal came from a long goalkeeper clearance, flicked on by German Barkovski, with a fortunate bounce falling for Shumansky to lash home first time. Belarus almost doubled the lead when Zakhar Volkov stepped up for a 15th-minute penalty, but Lukas Hradecky guessed right and smothered it. Finland pushed hard after the break, with Matti Peltola, Topi Keskinen and Leo Walta seeing efforts blocked or saved, while Oiva Jukkola headed twice off target and Joel Pohjanpalo nodded wide late. For Belarus, it's back-to-back wins for the first time since 2023, lifting them to seven points atop Group C1. Finland slip to third after their first defeat of the campaign, promotion hopes shakier with two rounds left.