Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the UEFA Nations League match.
The Estonia side earned promotion after the last Nations League and will now face teams at the European Championship level. Their first test is Slovakia.
Estonia
After easily winning their group in Division D of the Nations League, Estonia climbed a tier higher. Here, they will face familiar opponents from the Euro 2024 qualifiers, namely Sweden and Azerbaijan, but they start with Slovakia. In June, Estonia were tested in a friendly by Switzerland (0:4), but they later won the Baltic Cup. They thrashed the Faroe Islands in the semi-final (4:1) and then beat Lithuania 1:1 (4:3 on penalties) in the final.
Slovakia
At Euro 2024, Slovakia were perceived as underdogs but managed to spring surprises and nearly pulled off an even bigger sensation. They began by defeating Belgium (1:0) in the group stage, and they almost got past England in the Round of 16. Against England, their finishing let them down (2.15 xG). The favourites narrowly escaped thanks to Jude Bellingham's overhead kick in the 95th minute (1:1). Much of this success was due to their central forward Ivan Schranz, who scored in three out of four games. He is expected to play against Estonia as well.
Estonia - Slovakia Prediction
Estonia and Slovakia last met on the football field a very long time ago: during the qualification for the 2006 World Cup. Slovakia won both matches, at home (1:0) and in Tallinn (2:1). It will be challenging for the hosts to achieve a positive result, but a large victory for Slovakia seems unlikely.
