Estonia welcome Sweden to A. Le Coq Arena this Saturday in match day five of the UEFA Euro Qualifiers. Both sides are outside of the qualification spots and will need a win this weekend if they want to truly challenge for the top two spots.
Estonia sit fourth in Group F with just one point to their name so far. In three games Estonia have one draw and two losses, leaving them two points adrift of this weekend’s opponents and six points away from Belgium in the final qualification spot. However, Estonia also has a poor goal difference, having only scored two goals but conceded six.
A trip to Austria was the first outing for Estonia in the Euro Qualifiers. Estonia opened the scoring with a goal from Rauno Sappinen in the 25th minute, but Austria bit back in the second half. Florian Kainz and Michael Gregoritsch both scored in the second half to grab the 2 - 1 win for Austria. Estonia’s first point of the qualifying campaign came against Azerbaijan. Sappinen once again opened the scoring for Estonia in the first half, but Anton Kryvotsyuk scored in the second half as the game finished in the 1 - 1 draw. The last time out in the Qualifiers was a visit from Belgium. Romelu Lukaku scored a brace in the first half and Johan Bakayoko added in the last minute of the game to give Belgium the 3 - 0 win.
Amidst the Qualifying madness, Estonia travelled to Hungary for an international friendly. Martin Adam scored the only goal of the game as Hungary ground out a 1 - 0 win with Estonia only able to manage three shots on target.
Sweden sit one spot above Estonia in third in Group F. In three games Sweden have one win and two losses, leaving them with three points. This also means Sweden are four points back from Belgium and seven points adrift of Austria.
Belgium were the first opponents for Sweden in the group stage. Though Sweden had four shots on target, Lukaku popped up with a hattrick to give Belgium the 3 - 0 win and all three points. The first win of the Qualifiers for Sweden came against Azerbaijan. Emil Forsberg, Viktor Gyokeres, Karlsson and Elanga, as well as an own goal from Bahlul Mustafazada gave Sweden the 5 - 0 win. However, Sweden were handed another loss when they travelled to Austria. Christoph Baumgartner scored twice in eight minutes to give Austria the 2 - 0 win.
Sweden also played an international friendly in the last break. Callum McCowatt opened the scoring for New Zealand, but a brace from Jesper Karlsson and goals from Robin Quaison and Anthony Elanga gave Sweden the 4 - 1 win.
Estonia and Sweden have a storied history, having met 17 times with the first meeting coming back in 1921. Sweden have never lost to Estonia in their entire history, winning on 15 occasions and drawing just twice.