Estonia's Recent Nation's League Success Can Shape the Country's Soccer Future - Eesti Elu

Historically, the Estonian men's national soccer team has seen very little success. They have never qualified for either the World Cup or the UEFA European Championship, the two major soccer tournaments for which they are eligible to qualify for.

There is a third competition for which Estonia is eligible; however, this one is different from the two previously mentioned. The competition in question is the UEFA Nations League, which, unlike the European Championship and World Cup, does not require qualification and is every two years instead of four.

The UEFA Nations League is also a much newer competition, with the 2018-19 season being the first. The UEFA Nations League, more commonly known as the Nations League, is a tiered competition that every single European country automatically qualifies for.

The tiering is simple and has four levels: the best sixteen teams are in League A, the next best sixteen are in League B, then the next best sixteen are in League C, with the six worst teams in League D. Estonia has been relatively unsuccessful and has found itself in League C for four out of five of the competition's editions.

With the exception of 2022-23, when they found themselves in League D. In the four competitions prior to this season, Estonia's best finish was third place in their group, which they achieved in 2024-25 and 2018-19.

It's safe to say that this time, Estonia was aiming for heights they had not yet achieved. "You can look behind and worry about someone overtaking you, or you can look forward.

One approach holds you back, while the other is positive." Head Coach Jurgen Henn's positive words came ahead of their first Nations League game of the 2026-27 season versus Iceland. Going into the match against Iceland, Estonia had played Iceland seven times in their history and had only won once.

Considering the Icelanders were ranked almost fifty positions above the Estonians, at 74th in the FIFA rankings versus Estonia's 127th at the time, most thought Iceland would get the win. However, a great Estonian performance would nullify the Icelanders.

This was a well-deserved point and the general consensus was that Estonia was unlucky to leave Reykjavik without a win.