Finland women’s manager Outi Saarinen has apologised after a remarkable selection mistake in which the international team accidentally named a retired 51-year-old player in their squad.
Saarinen hoped to select 23-year-old Djurgarden defender Nanne Ruuskanen for Finland’s Nations League match with Serbia.
However, a bizarre administrative error meant that Ruuskanen had to miss the tie which ended 1-1 on Tuesday night.
Instead, the team sheet listed Stina Ruuskanen, a 51-year-old former international who earned two caps for Finland in the 1990s.
The two players share the same surname but are not related.
Stina who last played international football 29 years ago saw the funny side in the selection mistake by Finland.
“I’m definitely ready if the call comes,” she told Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat. “Just yesterday I was playing in a hobby league match, so my game feel is good.”
Current Finland player Nanne though might have some reason to feel aggrieved for missing out on representing her country this time around.
The error was not discovered until after the deadline and could not be changed.
Finland women’s manager Outi Saarinen has apologised after accidentally naming a 51-year-old former player in the squad for their match against Serbia. https://t.co/yual9nXQJx
— Capital Sport (@CapitalFMSport) June 4, 2025
Finland boss apologises for bizarre mistake
Finland boss Outi Saarinen was forced to apologise for the mistake via a Finnish FA statement.
She said that Nanne Ruuskanen had been informed of the situation ‘on match day when the error was discovered’.
Saarinen added: “Nanne was naturally disappointed, but took the news remarkably well under the circumstances. I’m deeply sorry for the mistake.”
The incident left the 23-year-old Djurgarden defender watching from the sidelines in her country’s draw against Serbia.
Some football on social media made light of the situation comparing it to the movie Mike Bassett: England Manager.
The movie sees England manager Bassett accidentally select two players called Benson and Hedges to his team.
Finland’s women’s team play Netherlands in a friendly on June 26th before they compete at Euro 2025.
The Scandinavian country has been drawn in a group alongside Iceland, Norway and hosts Switzerland.
Nanne Ruuskanen will be hoping Finland don’t make the same mistake when it comes to selecting her for the European Championship.
Meanwhile, England made no selection error as they named their 23-person squad for Euro 2025 on Thursday afternoon.
