I went to a soccer game! Finland v Lithuania, Oct 9 2025 (Helsinki Olympic Stadium)

After a pretty full day (see previous posts) I was really looking forward to the evening's scheduled activity: Finland vs Lithuania in a World Cup qualifier at Helsinki Olympic Stadium. (Yes, Finland hosted a summer Olympics. Also, check out the wikipedia entry at that previous link - some nice concerts back in the 90s ... Dire Straits & Was (Not Was)!) I learned about the match through MyHelsinki.com, which is a fantastic resource for planning things to do during your visit to Helsinki. Tickets were pretty reasonable. I spent a good amount of time trying to figure out where to sit. This site was semi helpful, combined with some stadium schematics I found online. I wanted a decent seat, but did not need to splash for the best seat in the house. Wound up spending 70euro for E5, Row 10, Seat 101. Anyway, I was going to the game and looking forward to it.

The journey over was pretty straightforward. Took tram 10 all the way to Oopera and then walked to the stadium. Some supporters wearing the blue and white Suomi scarves. Felt like a family outing vibe. Not quite like taking the red line up to Wrigley. Though I arrived a bit early, so maybe it ramped up on the following trams that arrived closer to kickoff. Scene I rolled up on was pretty chill. Food truck was quiet.

You traverse a little green area before getting to the parking & pre-game area.

Outside the stadium was a nice vibe. Very orderly, calm, no crazy chants. Some interactive set ups for kids to take shots on goal. Obligatory food truck. The merch tents were modest but offered a nice variety of gear. Wound up doing what I usually do: bought a shirt in the wrong size that will end up in Judy's closet. Cool looking shirt, though.

Time to enter. The Jerry-dome in Dallas it ain't. But I love this kind of place. Minimalist. Old school. I was feeling seen in Finland.

Found my seat to be satisfactory and took in some of the pre-game ceremony.

Snapped a couple of pics at the kick and for some set plays.

The first half ended with Finland down 1-0 and not looking too inspired. The experience was pretty good overall. It hadn't rained and wasn't too cold, so that was big. But there was a pretty hyper 9-year old sitting behind me and he must have kicked my seat 15 times in 45 minutes. I gave some thought to trying to find another seat and another perspective for the second half, but ultimately decided to just bail. It had been a long day and I wanted to eat something besides stadium food for dinner. So I left. I did capture an unexpected use of Kool & The Gang's 'Celebration' to start the halftime break.


Finns don't get cheated on the halftime / intermission beers. Witnessed something similar at the hockey game I went to Saturday night (future post).

For some reason I decided to scoot back to the apartment rather than take the tram. I think I exited on a far side of the stadium away from the tram and when I saw some scooters there for the riding I said why not. In my experience, scooting is a bit easier when you're just kind of wandering or generally exploring. Trying to navigate to a specific spot a few miles away in the dark is not as much fun. Scoot. Stop. Check google maps. Scoot. Stop. Check google maps. But I saw another slice of the city that I otherwise would not have covered. My route was the dark blue line in the image below. Eventually I made it home, then popped out to K-Market for some prepared meal thing to enjoy in my cozy and warm apartment.

Oh, and I later learned that Finland scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half, going on to win 2-1. They won't qualify directly from their group (Netherlands and Poland have those spots sewn up). But they will be in the playoffs for a final qualifying spot.