Estonia vs Belgium

A. Le Coq Arena in Tallinn is the venue as out-of-sorts Estonia seek their first points in the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign against overwhelming favorites Belgium.

Even though they’ve played just two World Cup qualifying matches so far (L2), Estonia have already fulfilled their role of group walloping boys, losing both qualifiers by at least a two-goal margin despite scoring precisely twice apiece. Pointless and rooted to the bottom of the section, the Baltic minnows face the daunting task of snatching away their first points in Group E, having lost 19 of their last 20 major tournament qualifiers against top-seeded group teams. Additionally, the Estonians have gone unbeaten in 12 consecutive UEFA-sanctioned home fixtures (D3, L9) since defeating Cyprus 1-0 in September 2017. Belgium’s visit is likely to stir some painful memories in the host nation’s camp, considering they’ve lost both previous World Cup qualifying H2Hs by an aggregate scoreline of 10-1.

Meanwhile, the Belgians have remained at the summit of FIFA’s rankings despite exiting Euro 2020 in the round of 16 as they hope to maintain an unbeaten start to this World Cup qualifying campaign (W2, D1). Except for an underwhelming 1-1 draw away to the Czech Republic on Matchday 2, ‘De Rode Duivels’ have won their remaining two Group E fixtures by at least a two-goal margin, netting precisely two goals within the opening 30 minutes of play on both occasions. Adding to their confidence, Roberto Martinez’s men have registered four consecutive away victories over bottom-seeded hosts in major tournament qualifiers, prevailing by a margin of 3+ goals in the last three in a row. Curiously, though, a somewhat lackluster defending has seen Belgium fail to keep a clean sheet in each of their previous three competitive away matches (W1, D1, L1).