Courageous Estonia face giants Germany

Manuel Veth –

Estonia vs Germany – Sunday, October 13, 19:45BST/20:45CEST – A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia

Estonia vs Germany will take place at the A. Le Coq Arena in Tallinn (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Estonia were thrashed 8-0 in Mainz by Germany in what was the first meeting between the two sides in 80 years. Although it was expected that Germany would walk away with a convincing victory, it was the manner the Estonian team presented itself that was a shock for the football fans in the Baltic State.

As a result, the Estonian football association opted to part ways with head coach Martin Reim. Reim was replaced with Karel Voolaid, whose mission is to play more courageous football. Against Belarus (1-2) and the Netherlands (0-4), Estonia played better even if both games ended in defeat. Then on Thursday, Estonia managed to collect the first point in the Euro 2020 qualification campaign in a 0-0 draw against Belarus.

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It will be an encouraging result for a side that will have nothing to lose going into the game against Germany. That is perhaps the biggest danger for the German national team, which gave away a 2-0 lead in Dortmund against an Argentina side missing several top players.

“In the second half, we were way too passive and conceded the goals,” Joshua Kimmich said after the Argentina game to German TV station RTL. “This, unfortunately, happens to us too often at the national team.”

Germany were brilliant in the first half, and it was due to individual mistakes and lack of concentration that Argentina managed to get back into the match. Some of this might be because Germany missed several key players on Wednesday.

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Key players that should be able to return for the game on Sunday. Marco Reus, Timo Werner, and Ilkay Gündogan are expected to be back in the lineup. The situation in defence, however, remains complicated, Niklas Stark had to leave the national team after sustaining a cut in his leg at the team hotel. Jonathan Tah, in the meantime, left the national team ahead of the Argentina game.

As a result, expect SC Freiburg defender Robin Koch to make his second appearance for Die Mannschaft. The defender was solid in the first half but, like the rest of the team, struggled in the second 45 minutes. But even with defensive problems, Germany should have enough in the tank to collect three important points in what is turning out to be a tight qualification group in which Northern Ireland, Netherlands, and Germany are all on 12 points.

Estonia vs Germany  – Players to look out for:

Erik Sorga #9 – Estonia (Flora Tallinn)

Erik Sorga is Flora Tallinn’s top goalscorer. The striker has scored 41 goals in 36 games across all competitions this season. Only 176cm tall, Sorga is a typical box player with an unbelievable goal-getter instinct. A goal instinct that has not translated well to the Estonian national team yet, the striker has only scored once in four games for his country.

Serge Gnabry #20 – Germany (Bayern Munich)

Against Argentina, Gnabry was once again one of the best players on the field for Germany underlining why Bundestrainer Löw always starts the 24-year-old forward. Gnabry has now scored ten goals in 11 games for Germany, but at the same time, has been humble enough to recognise that he needs to continue to confirm his form. “I have a great run right now,” Gnabry said this week. It takes a lot of hard work, the right attitude … You have to prove yourself again and again. If I were to play three bad games, surely someone else would get my game time.”

Serge Gnabry of Germany celebrates after he scores his sides first goal under pressure from Jonas Hector of Germany during the International Friendly between Germany and Argentina at Signal Iduna Park on October 09, 2019 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Estonia vs Germany  – Match Stats

• Germany have a 100% record against Estonia, winning each of their previous four meetings with an aggregate score of 19-1.
• Before the match in Mainz, it has been 80 years since these sides last met, Ernst Lehner and Reinhard Schaletzki on target in a 2-0 friendly win in 1939.
• Löw’s men have won all three of their qualifiers away from home during the current campaign, picking up three points in the Netherlands (3-2), Belarus (2-0) and Northern Ireland (2-0).

Futbolgrad Network Prediction: Estonia vs Germany  – 0-5

Estonia vs Germany  – Lineups

Estonia:

Formation: 4-1-4-1

Igonen – Pikk, Mets, Tamm, Teniste – Käit – Kreida, Zenjov, Antonov, Ojamaa – Sorga

Head Coach: Karel Voolaid

Germany:

Formation: 4-3-3

Neuer – Halstenberg, Koch, Süle, Klostermann – Gündogan, Kimmich, Havertz – Reus, Gnabry, Werner

Head Coach: Joachim Löw

Manuel Veth is the owner and Editor in Chief of the Futbolgrad Network. He also works as a freelance journalist and among others, contributes to Forbes.com and Pro Soccer USA. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in History from King’s College London, and his thesis is titled: “Selling the People’s Game: Football’s transition from Communism to Capitalism in the Soviet Union and its Successor States,” which is available HERE. Manuel has lived in Amsterdam, Kyiv, Moscow, Tbilisi, London, and currently splits his time between Victoria, BC, and Munich, Germany.  Follow Manuel on Twitter @ManuelVeth.