Niemi calls for victory over bruised Welsh side

The Southampton goalkeeper Antti Niemi believes Finland are still clinging on to a faint chance of qualifying for Euro 2004 ahead of the Welsh, whom they face in Cardiff tonight.

The Finns know they have to win their final game in Group Nine to stay in the hunt, with Wales and Serbia and Montenegro seemingly better placed for a play-off place. Niemi said: "We would all like to think that we have some sort of chance still, but it will take something special to make it happen. We know it is a small chance, not big. Whatever the size of the chance, we will still be going all out to win in the Millennium Stadium."

Finland, who are without Jari Litmanen because of an Achilles problem, are expected to recall the former West Ham defender Hannu Tihinen to play alongside Liverpool's Sami Hyypia in a bid to counter the aerial threat of Wales' target man, John Hartson.

Niemi was taken off on a stretcher on his last visit to the Millennium Stadium - in the FA Cup final against Arsenal in May - when he was replaced by the Wales goalkeeper Paul Jones. "I have some good memories of the Cup final because it was such a great occasion but it was sad not to complete the match," Niemi said.

"Paul Jones came on and played well and has retained the No 1 jersey ever since," he added. "There is competition between us, but people build it up too much. We are great friends and colleagues."

Finland's slim qualification hopes are due in part to a 2-0 defeat to Wales in Helsinki last September, and Niemi said: "That was the most disappointing result we have had in the group."

The Charlton forward Jonatan Johansson believes that no one can now overhaul Italy at the top of the group. "Italy are by far the best. We believed we had a chance of beating them in Helsinki, but they were outstanding," Johansson said. "I am not surprised they are top now after beating Wales at the weekend. We have watched the video and I feel that 4-0 was too harsh a scoreline after how well Wales had played for an hour."

The Slovenia playmaker Zlatko Zahovic may miss his team's Group One qualifier against the defending champions, France, in Ljubljana because of a thigh muscle strain. Zahovic was in a class of his own on Saturday, setting up all his team's goals as Slovenia beat Israel 3-1. They need a draw to secure a play-off spot while France also need a single point to clinch direct qualification by winning the group.

The Slovenia coach, Bojan Prasnikar, said that despite Zahovic's absence, there would be no repeat of last year's 5-0 defeat in the Stade de France. "We will be meeting an outstanding team, surely the strongest in the world," he said. "But what happened in Paris won't repeat itself."