Sjolund: Looking for three points against Georgia

The Finns host Georgia in Helsinki looking to bounce back from a 1-0 home defeat to France in their opening World Cup qualifier last month.

That loss, combined with France's win over Belarus, means Finland are already six points behind Les Bleus and reigning world and European champions Spain could also make it two wins out of two when they go to Belarus tomorrow.

Therefore, Sjolund

knows anything other than a victory over Georgia would leave Finland with a huge mountain to climb to get back into contention for a qualifying berth.

The Djurgarden player said on www.palloliitto.fi: "Friday's match will not be easy for sure, but it's a game we need to win.

"The group is tough and Georgia have already shown by winning against Belarus and by pushing Spain close that they are a strong team,"

"We know that we still need to play Spain twice and France away, so this is a game that we must win if we are to keep up the fight."

He added: "There is certainly no danger of underestimating our opponents.

"We lost at home to France, we cannot lose twice in a row at home."

In tomorrow's other Group I match, Spain will be looking to build on their hard-fought 1-0 win over Georgia in their opening qualifier when they travel to Belarus.

Spain face France in Madrid on Tuesday but striker Fernando Torres is not looking beyond their game in Minsk.

"I think the important game is the one against Belarus, the one against France will be important if we get the points here. Nobody is thinking about France," said the Chelsea striker.

Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa added: "Any slip-ups can prove very costly. The teams who seem the weakest could be the most dangerous, as we discovered in Georgia.

"We're aware of this and therefore we are very focused on tomorrow's game and we know that it will be as difficult as the one on Tuesday against France."

Belarus have lost both of their qualifiers to date, losing away to France (3-1) and Georgia (1-0).