Danish Coach Jacob Friis to Take Over Finland's National Team

Jacob Friis, assistant coach at Augsburg, has been appointed as the new head coach of Finland's national team, becoming the second Danish coach to lead the team in history.

The Finnish Football Association has chosen Jacob Friis, a Danish assistant coach at Augsburg, to lead their men's national team. This marks the second time in history that Finland has appointed a Danish coach, following in the footsteps of Richard Møller Nielsen, who managed the team from 1996 to 1999. Friis is set to be officially presented as the new coach on Monday.

Friis currently serves as assistant coach at Augsburg under Jess Thorup. The German club has confirmed that Friis will be allowed to leave his position to take on the national team role. Augsburg director Michael Ströll stated, “We have given Jacob permission to take the unique opportunity to become national coach for Finland. It was his wish, and we have complied.” As part of the agreement, Finland will pay a lower six-figure sum in Euros to release Friis from his contract with Augsburg, with the possibility of additional payments if Friis achieves success as the Finnish national coach.

Augsburg director Michael Ströll also revealed that the club does not plan to directly replace Friis, as Jess Thorup's staff already includes former Danish national team substitute coach Lars Knudsen. Jacob Friis has previous experience as a head coach in the Danish Superliga, having managed Aalborg BK (AaB) and Viborg. He joined Augsburg in November 2023 but will now be leaving the club to take on the challenge of leading the Finnish national team.

Jacob Friis is set to succeed Markku Kanerva, who resigned as the Finnish national team coach in November last year. With Friis at the helm, Finland will be looking to build on their recent progress and achieve success in international competitions.