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Estonia national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Oct 13, 2023 at 5pm UK
A. Le Coq Arena
Azerbaijan national football team

Estonia
0 - 2
Azerbaijan


Pikk (18'), Kait (68'), Vetkal (90+1')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Bayramov (9'), Seydayev (45+4' pen.)
Mahmudov (22'), Mammadov (40'), Madatov (45+1')

Preview: Estonia vs. Azerbaijan - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Friday's Euro Champ Qualifying clash between Estonia and Azerbaijan, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

The bottom two nations in Group F of Euro 2024 qualifying square off at Le Coq Arena in Tallinn on Friday as Estonia play host to Azerbaijan.

These two teams could not be separated in their last meeting in June as they were forced to share the spoils in a 1-1 draw in Baku.


Match preview

Estonia's Henrik Ojamaa on September 9, 2023© Reuters

Estonia's hopes of qualifying for their first-ever major tournament are over after accumulating just one point from their first five matches in Group F, leaving them 12 points adrift of second-placed Austria with just three games remaining.

The Blueshirts endured a humbling international break last month as they suffered heavy 5-0 defeats to both Sweden and Belgium, failing to register a single shot on target in both fixtures.

Ranked 115th in the world by FIFA, Estonia are merely playing for pride in their remaining qualifiers and manager Thomas Haberli is tasked with ending the nation's winless run as they endeavour to avoid going an entire Euro qualifying campaign without a win for the first time since 1996.

Estonia enter Friday's contest having lost each of their last seven home matches in Euro qualifying, but they are unbeaten in their previous four meetings with Azerbaijan including a 2-1 win in their last home encounter in November 2013.

Azerbaijan players pose for a team group photo before the match on September 9, 2023© Reuters

While Estonia's fate is sealed, Azerbaijan can still mathematically secure a top-two finish in Group F despite claiming just one point from their opening four matches.

However, Gianni De Biasi's side must beat Estonia on Friday to keep their slim ambitions of qualification alive and hope that joint leaders Austria and Belgium do not play out a draw in Vienna.

Azerbaijan are also seeking to avoid going an entire Euro qualifying campaign without a victory since 1996 and are aware that Friday's clash with Estonia is realistically their best chance of claiming maximum points in Group F.

Ranked 121st in the world by FIFA, Azerbaijan came close to picking up a point in a home meeting with former world number ones Belgium last month, but their valiant efforts were ultimately in vain as a first-half strike from Yannick Carrasco helped the Red Devils claim a slender 1-0 win in Baku.

De Biasi's men returned to winning ways just three days later, though, when they beat Jordan 2-1 in a friendly on home soil, and they are now seeking to secure back-to-back victories for the first time since a run of five successive wins in all tournaments between June and November of last year.

Estonia Euro Champ Qualifying form:


Estonia form (all competitions):


Azerbaijan Euro Champ Qualifying form:


Azerbaijan form (all competitions):



Team News

Austria's Christoph Baumgartner in action with Estonia's Karol Mets on March 27, 2023© Reuters

Estonia's Karol Mets is unavailable for selection on Friday due to suspension, but the St Pauli defender is nursing a knee injury anyway.

Thirty-nine-year-old captain Konstantin Vassiljev, who has 26 international goals to his name and is just one strike away from moving into joint-second on Estonia's all-time scoring charts, is expected to start in an advanced midfield role alongside Henrik Ojamaa, with Henri Anier set to lead the line.

Arsenal goalkeeper Karl Hein is poised to earn his 25th international cap between the sticks, while Roma teenager Martin Vetkal is in contention to make his first senior appearance for the national team.

As for Azerbaijan, defender Eddie Israfilov will miss Friday's match after leaving the nation's training camp due to injury.

Anton Kryvotsyuk scored his first international goal in the 1-1 draw with Estonia four months ago, and the Daejeon Citizen centre-back is expected to retain his place in the back four alongside Rahil Mammadov, Bahlul Mustafazada and Elvin Cafarguliyev.

Midfielder Emin Mahmudov and winger Ramil Sheydayev, who have scored 19 international goals between them, are set to continue in the first XI, while Mahir Emreli will look to replace Renat Dadashov up front.


Estonia possible starting lineup:
Hein; Paskotsi, Tamm, Kuusk; Peetson, Poom, Kait, Pikk; Ojamaa, Vassiljev; Anier

Azerbaijan possible starting lineup:
Magomedaliyev; Mammadov, Mustafazada, Kryvotsyuk, Cafarguliyev; Diniyev; Bayramov, Isayev, Mahmudov, Sheydayev; Emreli


SM words green background

We say: Estonia 1-2 Azerbaijan

A closely-fought contest between two evenly-matched nations could be on the cards on Friday, but considering Estonia's recent troubles in defence and Azerbaijan's solid performances against Belgium and Jordan last time out, we believe that the visitors will do enough to claim a narrow victory.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:curl


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Game History

How you voted: Estonia vs Azerbaijan

Estonia
21.1%
Draw
27.4%
Azerbaijan
51.6%
95
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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Cyprus Cyprus00000
2 Georgia Georgia00000
3 Norway Norway00000
Q Scotland flag Scotland00000
Q Spain Spain00000

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France00000
2 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar00000
3 Greece Greece00000
Q Netherlands Netherlands00000
5 Ireland Rep. Ireland00000

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England00000
Q Italy Italy00000
3 Malta flag Malta00000
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia00000
5 Ukraine Ukraine00000

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Armenia Armenia00000
Q Croatia Croatia00000
3 Latvia Latvia00000
Q Turkey Turkey00000
5 Wales flag Wales00000

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania00000
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic00000
3 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands00000
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova00000
5 Poland Poland00000

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria00000
2 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan00000
Q Belgium Belgium00000
4 Estonia Estonia00000
5 Sweden Sweden00000

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Bulgaria Bulgaria00000
Q Hungary Hungary00000
3 Lithuania Lithuania00000
4 Montenegro Montenegro00000
Q Serbia Serbia00000

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark00000
2 Finland Finland00000
3 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan00000
4 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland00000
5 San Marino flag San Marino00000
Q Slovenia Slovenia00000

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Andorra flag Andorra00000
2 Belarus Belarus00000
3 Israel Israel00000
4 Kosovo flag Kosovo00000
Q Romania Romania00000
Q Switzerland Switzerland00000

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina00000
2 Iceland Iceland00000
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein00000
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg00000
Q Portugal Portugal00000
Q Slovakia Slovakia00000


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