Kazakhstan and Finland are locked on nine points atop Group H as the two nations return to Euro 2024 qualifying action in Astana on Thursday.

Both sides have recorded three wins and one loss so far, keeping Denmark, Slovenia, Northern Ireland and San Marino out of the automatic qualification places.

Match preview

Since becoming a UEFA member in 2002, Kazakhstan have failed to qualify for four European Championships, winning just seven of their 44 qualifiers prior to the current campaign, but Magomed Adiyev's side are on course to buck that trend.

Heading into their fifth Euro 2024 qualifier, the Hawks already have three victories in the bag, meaning that Kazakhstan have taken nine points from a possible 12 as they bid to reach a European Championship for the very first time.

Although Kazakhstan's campaign started in familiar fashion with a 2-1 defeat against Slovenia, Adiyev's men bounced straight back with a hugely impressive 3-2 victory over Denmark, coming from 2-0 down to snatch the points thanks to three goals in the final 17 minutes.

Following a routine 3-0 win against San Marino, the Hawks secured another last-gasp victory over Northern Ireland last time out, courtesy of an 88th-minute winner from Astana striker Abat Aymbetov, who has scored three goals in his last four appearances for his country.

When you look at the bigger picture, Kazakhstan have lost only four of their previous 15 matches across all competitions, recording four wins, one draw and one loss during a promoting-winning Nations League campaign towards to end of last year.

Like Kazakhstan, Finland started their Euro 2024 qualifying journey with a loss before going on to chalk up three successive wins, meaning that Markku Kanerva's side find themselves at the summit of Group H thanks to their superior goal difference.

Finland's campaign began with a 3-1 defeat to Denmark, with Manchester United new boy Rasmus Hojlund netting a hat-trick in Copenhagen, but the Eagles-Owls have been immense since then, notching three consecutive victories without conceding a single goal.

After defeating Northern Ireland 1-0, Finland claimed a 2-0 victory over Slovenia before thrashing San Marino 6-0 in their previous match, with 22-year-old forward Daniel Hakans bagging a nine-minute hat-trick in the rout.

Thanks to a strong end to their 2022-23 Nations League campaign, the Eagle-Owls return to action on a run of three losses in 10 outings, although they did endure a five-game winless streak between November and March, recording two draws and three defeats in the process.

Still, Finland remain in pole position to win Group H after winning three of their opening four matches, scoring an impressive 10 goals while keeping three cleans sheets along the way.

Team News

Magomed Adiyev has called up five uncapped players for the qualifiers against Finland and Northern Ireland, including 22-year-old playmaker Vyacheslav Shvyrev and 23-year-old striker Vladislav Prokopenko.

The Kazakhstan boss utlised a 5-4-1 formation in June's victory over Northern Ireland, with young forward Maksim Samorodov leading the line, while Yan Vorogovsky and Mikhail Gabyshev occupied the full-back spots, but Gabyshev has not been selected this time around.

As for Finland, ex-Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki is in line to earn his 113th cap for his country on Thursday, and the 33-year-old will aim to score his 39th international goal in Astana.

Bayer Leverkusen stopper Lukas Hradecky will make his 86th international appearance between the sticks, while Leeds United midfielder Glen Kamara will operate in the visitors' engine room.

Kazakhstan possible starting lineup:
Shatsky; Malyi, Bystrov, Marochkin, Alip, Vorogovskiy; Zaynutdinov, Beysebekov, Tagybergen, Orazov; Samorodov

Finland possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Alho, Ivanov, Tomas, Uronen; Taylor, Schuller, Kamara; Kallman, Pukki, Antman

We say: Kazakhstan 2-2 Finland

Given that both sides have won each of their last three qualifiers, we can see Kazakhstan and Finland serving up an entertaining draw as the group leaders aim to keep the chasing pack at bay.

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