Sweden vs Estonia

Sweden’s quest to top their Nations League group continues at the Strawberry Arena against sub-par Estonia.

A rain of goals beyond the 60-minute mark saw Sweden hammer below-par Azerbaijan 3-1 in their opening Nations League outing, perhaps setting the tone for a promotion-winning campaign. The Swedes relinquished their League B status in 2022/23 as they lost four of their six matches (W1, D1). They were fun to watch, though, with those six fixtures averaging three goals per game. Manager Jon Dahl Tomasson still has a point to prove after losing three of his first five internationals in charge of Sweden (W2). Estonia’s visit to Solna bodes well, considering Blagult’s jaw-dropping record of 17 wins from the previous 19 meetings between the two countries (D2). Despite their dominance in this fixture, Sweden last scored more than two goals in a home H2H in 1937.

As for Estonia, four wins from as many outings in the previous Nations League campaign saw them earn back a sought-after League C promotion. However, the Baltic minnows slipped to a narrow 1-0 home loss to Slovakia in their 15th outing at this level, surrendering a two-game winning streak. The Estonians don’t have fond memories of their last League C campaign, given they went winless in all eight matches (D4, L4) despite conceding a respectable 1.37 goals per game on average. Before making light work of Europe’s whipping boys San Marino and Malta on their last two road trips, Jurgen Henn’s team had failed to find the back of the net in five of their seven Nations League travels (W1, D1, L5), highlighting the scale of the task awaiting them this week.