Under-Fire Friis Unbothered By Finland Fans' Frustration After Albania Loss

Friis brushes off Finland fans after Albania defeat ends promotion hope

Lukas Hradecky defended Jacob Friis after Finland's defeat to Albania, saying the coaching staff are doing everything they can to turn things around.

Finland suffered a Nations League defeat to Albania, with Miro Tenho shown a late red card as their winless run continued...

Pressure had been building on Finland head coach Jacob Friis after the September-October international window, which brought a pair of damaging results against Belarus.

That pressure only intensified on Wednesday night after Finland fell to a 2-0 defeat in Tirana against Albania, a result that ended their hopes of promotion to League B of the UEFA Nations League with a game to spare.

Finland are now certain to finish third in Group C1 regardless of how their final match against San Marino on 15 November plays out, despite having only dropped down from League B in the last Nations League cycle.

Kiitos tuesta Tiranan illassa. 🇫🇮💙 @Pohjoiskaarre #Huuhkajat #MeOlemmeSuomi https://t.co/qOnmIAiz8N

— Huuhkajat (@Huuhkajat) November 13, 2026

Supporters who travelled in numbers to Tirana made their frustrations clear towards a side that has now gone four matches without scoring from open play, but Friis was in no mood to placate them.

“Calm down,” he said during his post-match television interview, before going on to explain why he was unbothered by the criticism.

“I'm confident. The head coach is always blamed. I don't care. I care about the players and that we are taking steps in the right direction.”

Following the loss to Belarus in October, Hradecky had seemed to lay the blame at Friis' door over his tactical decisions. On this occasion, however, the goalkeeper moved swiftly to defend the Dane, who has been in charge since January 2025.

“Coaching is doing everything they can. There have been sleepless nights. We are thinking about how we can improve this (situation) - we are doing it together.”

There was little Hradecky could do as Ernest Muci curled an opener into the top corner before the break, and Albania tightened their grip soon after the restart when Rey Manaj headed in a second. Finland's task became even harder with 25 minutes still to play, as Miro Tenho saw red for a reckless tackle.