Finland stay perfect on home court after five-set thriller against Netherlands

[p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/netherlands/xQmC3s6a/"]Netherlands[/a]' neighbours [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/belgium/ClZpbtyP/"]Belgium[/a] had also taken [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/finland/xWtY0ri6/"]Finland[/a] to a fifth set, but the Finns had come through that test as well as securing 3-0 wins over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/denmark/UPXrPaV6/"]Denmark[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/serbia/QwWn3Qis/"]Serbia[/a] to top Group C and progress to the knockout stages.[/p][p]With top spot in the group yet to be decided, Finland were aiming to keep the winning run going against the Dutch, who had lost three from three before tonight, though only once failed to win a set.[/p][p]Their competitive nature was clear to see in the opening set this evening, as they raced into a 5-1 lead and [b]kept Finland at bay before extending their advantage to seven, closing out the set, 25-18.[/b][/p][p]The visitors then led 8-4 in the second, but this time Finland turned things around, going ahead for the first time at 17-16 before building their advantage to level the match with a 25-21 success.[/p][p]The Tampere crowd roared the hosts on as they went 16-10 up in the third set, but this time it was the [b]Netherlands who responded, putting together two separate 4-0 runs en route to going 23-21[/b] ahead, and though Finland clawed their way back, the 1997 champions took it 26-24 to move one set from victory.[/p][embed guid="95e04792-739f-41f9-a117-8acc66a16475" url="https://x.com/CEVolleyball/status/2099948722956177773" social-type="twitter" /][p]With the pressure on, [b]Finland made the perfect start to the fourth set, racing into a 6-1 lead[/b], and though the Netherlands cut the gap to just two at one stage, Finland never really looked like losing it, leading by as many as eight points at various stages before securing a 25-20 victory.[/p][p]And in the fifth-set, the Finns were clinical when it mattered once more, [b]turning a 4-3 lead to 9-3 with six unanswered points[/b]. Once again, the Dutch got within two, but another strong finish got Finland over the line, 15-11, to take [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/volleyball/finland-xWtY0ri6/netherlands-xQmC3s6a/?mid=SztjXm0e"]the 3-2 victory[/a].[/p][p]Finland move onto 10 points and will aim to secure top spot in the group against bottom-of-the-table [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/estonia/jk1i2HHl/"]Estonia[/a] on 17th September.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/volleyball/europe/european-championships/"]Follow 2026 EuroVolley on Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]