Belgium vs Estonia prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-09-11 18:45.
Belgium continued their march towards securing qualification for the 2024 UEFA European Championship with a slender 1-0 win over Azerbaijan at the weekend, which saw them maintain top spot in Group F of qualifying (ECQ). Paving a way to the continent's showpiece tournament in Germany next year is exactly the start that manager Domenico Tedesco would have desired, along with his team remaining undefeated (W4, D1) since his appointment after their disappointing exit at the group stage of the previous FIFA World Cup.
Tedesco seemingly has his Red Devils firing on all cylinders early in his tenure, with his side scoring 11 goals and conceding only three under his watch. He’ll be hoping this momentum can be carried into what will be their sixth consecutive major tournament appearance should they qualify, a feat achieved by losing only one of their last 52 qualification matches for those competitions (W43, D8).
On the receiving end of five of those Belgium wins was their soon-to-be visitors Estonia, who having shared a 2018 and 2022 World Cup Qualification group with their hosts have lost those five matches by an aggregate score of 21-3 after a 3-0 defeat in June’s reverse H2H of this ECQ cycle. Their fortunes in similarly recent periods have been in stark contrast with those of Belgium, as Estonia have been victorious in only nine of their last 50 qualification games for major tournaments (D7, L34).
The most recent of those matches wouldn’t have seen many high-fives being dished out in the changeroom, as Sweden handed them a 5-0 drubbing at home in which manager Thomas Häberli said they “could not compete with the physicality of our opponents”. Whilst he expressed hope that Estonia stages an unlikely comeback, he conceded that their fate could be in Belgium’s hands here.
Players to watch: Yannick Carrasco’s 38th minute winner secured the three points for Belgium against Azerbaijan, with that being the fourth of his last five international goals to come before half-time. He’ll be up against Estonia’s Martin Miller, who registered his last four goals for his club and two most recent goals for his country away from home venues.
Hot streak: Under current boss Domenico Tedesco, Belgium are yet to see a scoreless first-half.