Scoutmania

Inter Turku and 2024 Champions KuPS played out a 1-1 draw in the opening weekend of Finnish top-flight football. Inter Turku had multiple opportunities to score in the first half, but it was defender Samuli Miettinen who found the net early in the second half for KuPS, before Inter starlet Axel Kouame equalised for the home side in the 76th minute.

In the first half, Inter Turku played with a 4-3-3, with Kouame playing up top at times, while KuPS played with a 4-4-2 with wingers Petteri Pennanen and Otto Ruoppi drifting infield. It was Inter Turku who came up on top with their energetic man-to-man pressing against KuPS’ narrow set-up. With keeper Johannes Kreidl starting play for the visitors, Inter placed their players in the centre of the pitch, directed the ball towards the centre, pressed the keeper and centre backs depending on how high the team was, marked the KuPS midfielders, thus created several dangerous turnovers in the middle of the pitch (see image below). This pressing scheme also forced Kreidl to play the ball long to his attackers, where Inter defenders won a high percentage of aerial duels and, alongside their midfielders, made a high number of tackles and ball recoveries.

Another successful tactic by Inter was attacking down their right-hand side against KuPS’ attacking-minded left-back Clinton Antwi. With the man-marking pressing strategy and Antwi pushing high and drifting in field, this meant that Inter had 3 or 4 players ready to pounce on the counterattack and attack the space down the right (see image below). These counterattacks and numerical overloads resulted in golden opportunities but Inter did not score. In possession, right winger Antoin Essomba attacked the KuPS left-back in behind, while other Inter Turku ran into the right channel if Essomba was tightly marked.

In the second half, KuPS made changes and became the dominant team. Otto Ruoppi was placed in the middle as an attacking midfielder. As he dropped into spaces in between the lines and into midfield, it was harder for Inter defenders to pick him up and their pressing strategy was less successful. KuPS also pressed Inter keeper Eetu Huuhtanen, forced Inter to play wide and won the resulting long ball on the wing several times. They slowed the pace of the game and instilled more calm in their build-up play, which resulted in more chances, and they eventually scored via a corner. After the KuPS goal, Inter had more possession and responded with the goal they deserved, with their two best attackers, Kouame and Essomba, combining to score.

Here is the player who stood out in this match:

Axel Kouame (Inter Turku), attacking midfielder born 2003.

The attacking midfielder possessed high physical speed, made quick decisions, and played at a tempo higher than everybody else on the pitch. An incredibly agile player, it helped him play the next ball at obtuse angles and change the direction of play. The back-to-goal bounce passes in midfield patterns of play were very quickly executed and he often found the free player. Sometimes, he was positioned in the right half-space to play passes like a deep-lying playmaker but the passing percentage was low as he hesitated and needed time to evaluate in these positions. At this stage of the season, Inter did not have plays that involved midfield runs and showcased his ability to run on and off the ball. Though KuPS stopped passes into players in between the lines like himself, once he received the ball in an attacking overload, he quickly picked out the correct option and often created dangerous chances. Identifying group plays were key for him to make quick passes in these situations. Technically, he rolled the ball under his feet for tighter control and possessed incredible balance on the ball. He made some runs into the channels as the winger dragged out the opposition full-back and had some success playing crosses on the right and dribbling infield on the left. He was sometimes placed up top as the striker as Inter was playing the percentages putting their main man in likely goalscoring positions. It was slightly unfair to evaluate his performance as a lone number 9 as Inter could have used opposite movements – a teammate coming towards the ball and Kouame making runs in behind the defence – to better unbalance the defense and utilize his speed in behind the KuPS defence. He found space in the box and produced the equalizer, adding to his incredible goal-scoring record so far in 2025. Midfield runs into the box could be another method of scoring for him. He was most dangerous in the counterattack, as these group plays allowed him to accelerate and use his speed in big spaces, make this right runs, pick the correct option where he should have had assists to his name. Defensively, he possessed incredible speed to press the opposition and mark opponents in the midfield. His press on the goalkeeper started the Inter Turku press and some resulted in dangerous turnovers high up in midfield. He could be bumped off by an opponent, which was expected for a young attacking midfielder doing his defensive duties.

2025 could be his breakout season. In the last 2 years with Inter Turku, he recorded 5 goals and 10 assists in 40 games, but this year he produced 4 goals and 3 assists in 7 games in the pre-season Liiga Cup, scoring a goal or creating an assist every 74 minutes, which ranked him 2nd behind IF Gnistan’s Joakim Latonen by goal + assists / minutes ratio and made him stood out statistically. By eye, he had the ability to play at a league with a higher tempo. I could foresee him playing in Belgium: his acceleration and vertical speed, quick thinking speed, fantastic group plays made Belgium Pro League the best destination compared to other similar leagues. His versatility gave him another advantage: His ability to play as a winger on both sides, a midfielder and a centre forward could make him a welcomed addition to Belgium teams, where he could challenge different types of opposition players in different positions, used to shore up one of the wings defensively or drift infield from the wing to create and exploit the numerical superiority. Already linked to Standard Liège, I would add Union Saint-Gilloise and Danish side FC Midtjylland as frontrunners to win his signature in the upcoming transfer window. Union Saint-Gilloise had previously bought right winger Casper Terho from HJK for an undisclosed amount, and they could find greater success with Kouame as he appeared to be more threatening, and this was supported by Kouame’s greater goals / assists record thus far. Their transfer record in the 12 months also suggested that they could once again buy attackers from other European leagues, develop players like Kouame and make a profit.

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