Estonia vs Greece Predictions

Estonia are relative minnows in European football and their Nations League ranking reflects this. Only one of the 15 countries in League C is ranked lower than Estonia and it could be a struggle for them to get out of a group with Greece, Hungary and Finland.

Although, they have a squad experienced at international level but without any tangible success with regards to qualification for major tournaments. They are not helped by the fact that almost none of their squad plays in the highest leagues of European football, though four of the squad called up for these games have over 100 caps.

Indeed, one of these players is former Liverpool defender Ragnar Klavan, who moved to Cagliari in the summer after a moderately successful spell at Anfield. In his role as captain, he will have to marshal the team to remain organised against teams that possess superior quality to them. If he can manage this, then perhaps they can hold a few teams to surprise results.

Whilst recent results have been rather dismal, they have shown they can spring a surprise, with a 3-0 friendly win against Croatia last year a famous match in Estonia’s history. Thus, this team may be down on form at the moment but they’re capable of producing something extraordinary.

Greece have enjoyed great success in international European football in the 21st century, lifting the 2004 European Championship against all odds.

Since then, however, whilst the team regularly qualified for tournaments, it was clear there was a decline in quality to the squad as the years passed on from that famous win. In the last four years, the team went through a succession of failed managers, including Claudio Ranieri, who could not lift the team from mediocrity. They failed to qualify for either the Euros in 2016 or the most recent World Cup this year.

However, there were signs of revival in their attempt to qualify for the World Cup. They finished second behind Belgium in the group, above Bosnia-Herzegovina and their opponents for this match, Estonia. They picked up some decent results as well, which included draws against Belgium at home and Bosnia away, to suggest their European pedigree is coming back.

Indeed, there is strength to be found within Greece’s current squad, with a number of players plying their trade with top European clubs. These included centre-backs Sokratis, who plays for Arsenal, and Kostas Manolas, who competes with Roma, as well as Orestis Karnezis, also in Italy with Napoli. In addition, striker Kostas Mitroglou, once a flop for Fulham, is now a key player for French giants Marseille.

If this core of Greek players can play to their full potential, then there is a great chance that Greece could qualify from this group, with relative ease.

Indeed, we think Greece will win this game against an Estonia side short on quality. Whilst the away side aren’t in great form themselves, they can grind out a win. Thus, a 2-0 correct score-line reflects what could be a difficult match for Greece but they do possess that extra bit of quality needed to succeed.