Estonia's futsal team loses to Slovakia in World Cup qualifying opener

Estonia's national futsal team began its main-round World Cup qualifying campaign with a 4-1 away defeat to Slovakia. The result is a difficult start to a qualifying tournament in which the Estonians still have more matches to play.

The Slovaks scored three goals within the first five minutes and extended the lead to four in the 17th minute. Shortly before the break, Edvin Styuf pulled one back for Estonia from a Vnukov assist. There were no goals in the second half.

What the team said

Denis Vnukov, a member of the Estonian squad, told Rus.ERR that Slovakia are clearly a level above the opponents Estonia faced in the preliminary round in the spring. He said the tempo was different, as were the way the players moved and handled the ball and how thoroughly they dissected Estonia's play. In his words, the problem was conceding very fast goals: by the time the team adapted to the pace, it was already three down.

Vnukov believes the outcome could have been different had the team played from the start as it did in the second half. He stressed, however, that Slovakia are an experienced and strong side.

Assistant coach Dmitri Skiperski also linked the poor start to nerves and mistakes. He said the team did not quite manage to shake off its starting jitters and was punished quickly for small errors. According to him, the team tried to change the course of the game by using a flying goalkeeper. In the second half the Estonians created chances but failed to convert them, while the opponents did not score again.

Upcoming fixtures

Estonia's next match is on Tuesday, 20 October, against Ukraine, kicking off at 19:00 at the sports centre in Rakvere. Vnukov expects an even tougher game but is counting on the support of the home crowd.

The return match with Slovakia will take place on 9 December in Jõhvi. Estonia will finish the qualifying tournament with an away game against Ukraine on 26 February.