This is the greatest absurdity of the European Championship qualifiers
Twelve nations still have a chance to take part in Euro 2024 via play-offs, including one team without a single win in qualifying: Estonia's long-past successes over soccer dwarfs Malta and San Marino are enough to qualify for the deciding games.
Erling Haaland and the golden generation of Norwegian footballers have missed out on qualifying for Euro 2024 in Germany. Third place in qualifying Group A behind the overpowering Spaniards and self-sacrificing Scots was not enough for Norway, and three wins from eight games was not enough for their first participation in the finals since 2000.
On the other hand, there is hope for a nation that has not won a single game and has lost all but one. The Estonian national team finished last in the qualifiers for the 2024 European Football Championship in Germany. Belgium and Austria dominated qualifying Group F at will, not giving Sweden, Azerbaijan and, above all, Estonia the slightest chance. While the "Red Devils" and Germany's test match opponents today both qualified for the finals without defeat, Sweden and Azerbaijan came away empty-handed in third and fourth place. Nevertheless, both nations have at least won individual matches.
Eight games, seven defeats
Estonia finished the qualifiers without a single win, with a record of seven defeats and one draw. And yet - unlike the clearly stronger Sweden and Azerbaijan - still has a chance of qualifying for the tournament in Germany.
This has to do with their performance in the Nations League over a year ago. This is the tournament series that UEFA introduced in 2018 in order to curb the boring test matches and better market more important games on paper. The Nations League is divided into leagues A, B, C and D. The worst nations play in League D, just seven of them: Moldova, Latvia, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, San Marino and Estonia. The teams were divided into a group of four and a group of three as part of a draw. Estonia ended up in the D2 mini-team group with Malta and San Marino, neither of which - shall we say - are exactly known as soccer powers.
The national team of the mini-republic of San Marino, located in the middle of Italy, is 207th and last in the Fifa world rankings. The team has played 201 international matches in its history, losing 192, drawing 8 and winning just one game: against Liechtenstein in 2004. The San Marino national team's greatest run of success: three consecutive matches with a goal scored. The historic record was only set yesterday, Monday, in a 2-1 draw against Finland.
Better than Malta and San Marino
Although Malta is significantly better than San Marino, it is still one of the worst soccer nations in Europe. It is ranked 171st in the FIFA world rankings, between Fiji and Bermuda. Estonia - in 118th place in the world rankings - has three times as many inhabitants as Malta and 40 times as many as San Marino. It is only logical that the Baltic republic should finish the Nations League group with four wins. But thanks to UEFA's complicated qualifying mode, it is enough to secure a place in the European Championship play-offs.
In addition to hosts Germany, the ten group winners and ten group runners-up from the regular qualifiers have secured their ticket to the Euros. The three open places will be played out in three play-off tournaments with four teams each. The qualifying results are completely irrelevant for this, only the results in the Nations League are decisive. The best four nations from Leagues A, B and C that do not qualify via the regular route will advance to the play-offs. However, there is a special case: because only 2 of the 16 countries from League A did not qualify directly for the European Championship, the best team from League D, i.e. Estonia, advances in accordance with UEFA rules.
In the play-offs in March, the Estonians will play away in the semi-finals, either in Poland or Wales. In the unlikely event of an away win, they would need another victory in the play-off final to qualify. In view of the possible opponents Poland or Wales, this is bordering on a suicide mission. The complicated UEFA mode makes play-off participation possible for Estonia, but the final round is likely to remain a dream.
- Despite finishing last in their Euro 2024 qualifying group, Estonia manages to secure a spot in the play-offs due to their better performance in the Nations League, surpassing both Malta and San Marino.
- The Estonian national soccer team will represent their nation in the European Football Championship 2024 play-offs, as they were the best team from League D in the Nations League, despite finishing last in their Euro 2024 qualifying group.
- In an unexpected turn of events, the Estonian national soccer team, ranked higher than Malta and San Marino, will participate in the European Football Championship 2024 play-offs, as they were the best team from League D in the Nations League, despite not securing a single win in their Euro 2024 qualifying group.
Source: www.ntv.de
