Georgios Tsitsonis from AGONAsport.com brings you a full preview for Greece's all-important qualifier against Estonia.
OVERVIEW
With Belgium looming on the horizon, Greece prepare to take on Estonia on Thursday in a crucial qualifier for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. While the prospect of taking on powerhouse Belgium on Sunday is getting supporters excited, Michael Skibbe’s side would be wise not to overlook the Estonian side.
The Sinisärgid (Blue-shirts) are a team to be respected who are on a decent run at the moment. The appointment of former international Martin Reim, the all-time caps leader for Estonia, as head coach, has seen the team pick up some decent results in the last year. Most notable of which was certainly the 3-0 friendly victory over Croatia last March. In Group H of the European qualifiers, Estonia has still struggled despite Reim’s appointment. The team sit currently 5th on four points having won only one of their six qualifiers, a 4-0 victory over lowly Gibraltar. Estonia will likely sit back and defend as they look to exploit what they can through counter-attacks.
A focused Greece shouldn’t have a big problem against their visitors, though the Ethniki will still have fresh memories of defeats to the likes of the Faroe Islands and Luxembourg within the last two years. Estonia are at a higher level than those sides so there is some measure of caution necessary. This match has become a bit trickier of a proposition due to the many injuries facing Greece.
Still, a victory is what is expected and needed at this stage to keep the pressure on Belgium, who sit in 1st place in the group. The three points will also see Greece maintain their narrow one-point lead over Bosnia for 2nd place which will lead to a spot in the Play-offs in November.
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