On Sunday 8th November, the Finnish Veikkausliiga season for 2026 will conclude, yet we are still far from knowing who will get their hands on the trophy ahead of the 32nd and final round of fixtures.
Defeat for KuPS against AC Oulu in the penultimate round has, at least, whittled the number of potential champions down to two. The Kuopio side will give up their moniker of reigning champions after this weekend, as they fell five points behind HJK and Inter Turku.
Having barely cracked the top two all season, HJK went to the summit for the first time at the end of October, putting together a 10-match unbeaten run in the league.
Inter Turku sat atop the standings for large portions of the campaign, but three defeats in the nine Championship Group matches – one more than in their 22 regular season matches – has seen them relinquish first place with 90 minutes of football to play.
Both sides have 58 points, but as HJK’s goal difference is 13 better than Inter Turku’s, the Helsinki side need only to match FC Inter’s result on the final day. HJK will be at home to Oulu, who secured the final European place with the win over KuPS and have nothing to play for.
Inter Turku will travel to KuPS, who will have to accept a third-place finish in 2026 after back-to-back title wins. The Kuopio side will want to finish on a high, but poor form and UEFA Conference League exploits in midweek mean the visitors should fancy their chances.
HJK are Finland’s record title winners, and victory on Sunday will surely secure their 34th league championship. By contrast, victory in 2008 is Inter Turku’s only Veikkausliiga title win to date, while they are trying to avoid finishing as runners-up for the second season in a row.
Ordinarily, the underdog story would captivate the neutrals, but this year is different, as few Finnish fans would begrudge legendary striker Teemu Pukki bowing out with a league winner’s medal around his neck – the game against Oulu will be his final outing in professional football, having announced his retirement last month.
Club captain and former Finland international, Alex Ring, is also hanging up his boots: “The moment felt right now, and I was able to make the decision with peace of mind. Of course, the goal is to end my career with the Finnish championship.”
While Pukki and Ring may grab the headlines off the pitch, HJK will likely turn to Mads Borchers on it. The Dane has been in red-hot form of late, scoring nine times in his side’s five league games in October, rightly securing the league’s Player of the Month award.
But if HJK do slip up, Inter Turku have more than enough about them to capitalise, with Alie Conteh and Herman Sjogrell both in double figures in terms of goals this season, while they will not fear going to Kuopio, as they have picked up more points away from home than any other side in the division.
All matches on the final round kick-off at 14:00 CET on Sunday 8th November.
Follow the title-deciding matches in the Veikkausliiga on Flashscore.