Playing five sets across their first two games, Finland made sure to not let its effort go to waste this time around against France in the 2025 FIVB Men's World Championship.
Finland has yet to step foot in the Sumer Olympics in men’s volleyball.
But on Tuesday night, the Finns took down back-to-back Olympic champions France in an emphatic five-set stunner, 25-19, 17-25, 29-27, 21-25, 15-9, in Pool C at the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball Championship at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Facing tall odds, the Finns rode the energy of fans who flew all the way from Finland to complete their first-ever victory over Les Bleus in program history.
[ALSO READ: Finland stuns Olympic champs France in five sets to fight for FIVB Round of 16 berth]
After the match, captain Antti Ronkainen said it was a matter of wanting the victory more than their foes.
“Yeah, for sure we were hungry. Hungry because against Argentina, at the end of the fourth set, the fifth set, we didn't play so great,” said Ronkainen, as they forced World No. 9 Argentina to a similar five setter in their opening game.
“Maybe because we find out that we can win this game and then we started to hurry a little bit and we lost a little bit the game style, how we want to play. But yeah, we were really hungry, really hungry and we knew that we have to win this game.”
The Finns started out strong in the match, when they hit the ground running against France in a lopsided opener, 25-19.
But 20th ranked Finland had to dig deep after the French adjusted well to tie the match at 1-1.
Building momentum
In a pivotal Set 3, the Finns hung on tight late, even as higher-ranked France kept denying them the finishing blow to regain the lead.
After failing to convert set point four times, Finland finally broke through on their fifth try — thanks to an attack from Luka Marttila. Suddenly, the reigning Olympic champions had their backs against the wall with the 1-2 disadvantage.
Finland had the chance to close out in Set 4, when they tied the set at 21-all.
But an ill-timed service error drained some of the momentum and sparked an unanswered 4-0 from the French to drag the match into a winner-take-all fifth set, 25-21.
Fortunately for the Finns, a resounding 10-3 start proved just enough breathing room for them to hold on for the victory.
The win came even as France got within three, 9-12, after a service ace from Jean Patry.
Joonas Jokela led the battalion for Finland as he ended up with 20 points built off of 17 attacks and three aces.
Marttila added 15 points while Petteri Tyynismaa contributed 13 markers.
Patry paced France in the stunning loss with a game-high 23 points.
Finland thus stand a chance to clinch a spot in the next round when they face South Korea on Thursday, September 18, at 10:30 a.m. here at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Meanwhile, France will try to keep themselves afloat when they face unbeaten Argentina on the same day at the same venue later at 6 p.m.
[ALSO READ: SCHEDULE, RESULTS | 32 teams compete in 2025 FIVB Men's World Championship]
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.