Austria – Estonia

Zabitzer and company won’t leave the underdogs a chance

The situation in Group F after the first leg can be regarded as expected. The only surprise in this campaign was the ease with which Belgium beat Sweden in Solna. Austria and Belgium now have three points each, while Sweden and Azerbaijan are without any. Estonia also have no points, but the Baltic team missed the first round. In their first meeting, Austria play host to Azerbaijan in Linz. As expected, there was no fight in the match. By the end of the first half-hour Zabitzer and Gregoric made it 2-0, and then made it 4-1. It is worth noting the hosts' diligence in attack, which does not bode well for Estonia. The Baltic States themselves travelled to Budapest on Thursday, where they lost 0-1 to Hungary in a friendly. Ahead of the Linz clash, bookmakers see Austria as the clear favourite, offering a 1.17 odds. There is a strong demand for success in Austria at the moment. The once-strong national team has suffered systematic setbacks in recent years. They did not qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, losing to Denmark, Scotland and Israel in the qualifying group, and after getting a chance to play in the play-offs in the League of Nations last year, they crashed out in the semi-finals through Wales. Last year's Nations League draw saw Austria finish last in Group A with France, Croatia and Denmark. There is no alternative to Ralf Rangnick's European qualification, as the vaunted coach has already failed to make the Nations League. The Estonian national team's transfer value is 30 times lower than that of their up-and-coming opponents. One of the weaker teams in Europe, the Estonians have only managed a penultimate place in the World Cup qualifiers and a Group D victory in the Nations League last season over Malta and San Marino, which will allow them to play in the next round of the C-League. They faced Argentina in Pamplona, Spain in June 2022 and lost 0-5 to the future world champions. Estonia will most likely not be able to withstand the onslaught of Zabitzer and company, leading to a resounding defeat.