After a bright start to their Group G campaign, which included victory over Poland, things went downhill in September, as Poland earned revenge with a 3-1 win in the reverse fixture, while Finland were also beaten in a friendly with Norway.
They sit third in the group on seven points from five matches. Both the Netherlands and Poland are three points clear and the Dutch have a game in hand.
Travelling to Amsterdam on Sunday, it is vital Finland go there with another three points on the board, which they can earn tonight at home to Lithuania (19:45 EEST).
Despite the recent negative results, Friis tells the pre-match press conference that he's not about to rip up his coaching manual.
"We have certain ways we want to do things on the pitch. That's why our preparation is consistent. Whether it's defending the box, we want to defend the penalty area properly, but we're not going to do it completely differently than we did last time."
The reason for that? The former Viborg and AaB coach has seen plenty to be happy about of late, even in defeat.
"In the last few games, apart from the results, there were things we were quite happy with. There were also things we need to improve a lot on," he says, before detailing where his side can do things better.
"We had trouble in Poland getting into what we call the 'progression zone'. To get there, we have to get past the first press. If you do that properly, you get into situations where it’s good to progress into the final third. We didn’t do that well enough against Poland.
"We’re looking forward to the opportunity to improve that area."
However, the Dane admits it is important to focus on key areas that must be improved, and not lose sight of the team's gameplan. "If there are areas where we could improve on certain things, it's always a balancing act of how much we should focus on that in the next meeting.
"Of course, we focus on those problem areas at a sufficient level. But if you focus on just one specific topic, you might start to lose sight of the game as a whole."
Friis called-up four potential debutants into his squad - Tony Miettinen has since been sidelined due to injury, but Nordsjaelland full-back Juho Lahteenmaki , Kaiserslautern midfielder Naatan Skytta and Hacken striker Adrian Svanback could all win their first caps.
"We have a good mix of experienced and young players. The young players are dynamic and energetic. No one gets free spots in the Eagle Owls' team – they are here because they deserve it. Hopefully they will bring a spark to our game, together with more experienced players," says Friis.
Sparta Prague midfielder Kaan Kairinen has nothing but praise for the new additions to the Finland squad.
"The guys have come into the team with a really good drive. It's notable that they all have a lot of potential and quality. We hope that they will be able to help us in tomorrow's match."
Kairinen was on the scoresheet back in March, when Finland took an early 2-0 lead away against Lithuania, which they surrendered and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. Like his manager, Kairinen is reflecting on the positives and where Finland can improve this time.
"We were strong in the ball game in that match. We have been through it in our few training sessions, and I hope that it will continue tomorrow. We have a good group here and a lot of skilled guys. I believe and hope that we will get to see those players playing to their strengths.
"We want to be able to attack a lot and through that create scoring opportunities. I hope that I get that second goal too – that would be nice," Kairinen says.