Belgium vs Estonia Prediction & Tips
Belgium continued their good run of form in Euro 2024 qualifying with a narrow 1-0 win over Azerbaijan at the weekend to maintain top spot in Group F. Paving the way to the continent’s premier tournament in Germany next year is exactly the start coach Domenico Tedesco would have wanted, plus his team remains unbeaten (G4, E1) since taking over after their disappointing group stage exit at the previous edition of the World Cup.
Tedesco apparently has his “Red Devils” working flat out at the start of his tenure, with his team scoring 11 goals and conceding just three under his guidance. He will be hoping that this momentum can carry over to what will be their sixth consecutive major tournament appearance if they qualify, a feat achieved by losing just one of their last 52 qualifying matches for these competitions (G43, E8).
One team that fell victim to five of those Belgian victories is Estonia, their next opponent, who shared a 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualifying group with the home side, losing those five matches by an aggregate score of 21-3 after a 3-0 defeat in June in their first clash of this knockout cycle. Their fortunes in recent years have contrasted sharply with those of Belgium, with Estonia winning in just nine of their last 50 major tournament qualifiers (E7, P34).
In the most recent of those appearances the Estonians would not have been giving themselves many high-fives in the locker room, as Sweden handed them a 5-0 thrashing at home in which coach Thomas Häberli said “we couldn’t compete with the physicality of our opponents.” While expressing hope that Estonia will make an unlikely comeback, he admitted that their fate could be in Belgium’s hands.
Players to watch: Yannick Carrasco’s decisive goal in the 38th minute secured all three points for Belgium against Azerbaijan, that being the fourth of his last five international goals before the break. He will face Estonia’s Martin Miller, who scored his last four away goals for club and his two most recent for country.
Key fact: Under current coach Domenico Tedesco, Belgium has yet to record a clean sheet in the first half.
Belgium – Estonia FREE TIPS
OVER 3.5 GOALS @ 2.25
