Estonia’s national soccer team has the chance to create history in March when it takes part in the qualifying playoffs for Euro 2024.
The team has yet to reach a major international soccer tournament, coming closest when losing in a two-legged playoff against the Republic of Ireland for Euro 2012, and it faces a huge challenge to qualify for next summer’s finals in Germany.
Emulating the achievement of Latvia, who qualified for Euro 2004, would be a monumental feat for Estonia, who must overcome Poland away from home and then either Wales or Finland, also away from home, to book a spot at Euro 2024.
Estonia huge underdog
The football odds certainly do not favor Estonia’s prospects of making it to Germany. Before even considering Estonia’s odds of +50000 to win Euro 2024, the team is priced at +1600 for its one-off game against Poland. The football tips leading into that match are more likely to focus on how many goals Robert Lewandowski will score than Estonia’s prospects of causing a huge upset.
But while the odds are stacked against Estonia even making it to the playoff final, never mind Euro 2024 itself, coach Thomas Haberli has several months to construct a game plan to shut down Lewandowski and his Poland teammates.
Based on Estonia’s qualification campaign, it is certainly going to be a challenge given the team claimed just one point from its eight group matches, which was a 1-1 draw away to Azerbaijan. Only two goals were scored and 20 were conceded as Estonia also suffered 5-0 defeats against Belgium and Sweden.
Estonia’s place in the playoffs, though, was already secured, irrespective of the team’s results in qualifying due to its performance in the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League. The team won all four matches against San Marino and Malta in Nations League D to finish as the best-ranked team in that section, ahead of Latvia.
Estonia has beaten Poland before
Beating San Marino and Malta is a different proposition to overcoming Poland, although Haberli could take inspiration from a 1-0 friendly win over the Poles in 2012 when Konstantin Vassiljev scored a 90th-minute winner.
That victory came just months after Estonia had lost 5-1 on aggregate to the Republic of Ireland in their Euro 2012 playoff, having finished runner-up in its qualifying group. A 4-0 home defeat in the first leg ensured there was little to play for in the return game in Ireland, which Estonia drew 1-1.
Haberli does not have a squad as talented as the one from back then at his disposal - he has a mix of players who are entering the latter stages of their careers and those still in their formative years, rather than a group in its prime.
However, while Estonia does not have a player of the profile of Barcelona striker Lewandowski in its ranks, it has a group of soccer players determined to grasp the opportunity to play at a major tournament. Football history is full of underdog stories and Estonia should not be discounted from adding its own chapter by qualifying for Euro 2024.
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