Estonia’s U-17 national team continued their historic debut appearance at the UEFA European Championship final tournament on home soil, once again finding the net but suffering a 1-3 defeat against Croatia at Lilleküla Stadium. The defeat was Estonia’s second in the tournament after previously losing 1-4 to Spain in the opening match. Kuressaare attacker Aston Visse scored Estonia’s only goal late in the second half, becoming the second Estonian player to score at the tournament after FC Elva defender Ron Neltsas found the net against Spain.
Croatia started the match strongly and took the lead already in the second minute when Nik Žužic Škafar dribbled through the Estonian defence before finishing low past goalkeeper Harly Ollin.
The Croatians continued to dominate possession and chances throughout the first half, with Estonia struggling to spend long periods on the ball. Škafar doubled the advantage in the 35th minute with another impressive individual effort, curling the ball towards the top corner to make it 2-0 before halftime.
Early in the second half Croatia extended their lead further after Estonia conceded a penalty. Defender Ron Neltsas clipped Croatian forward Škafar inside the area and Jona Benkotic calmly converted from the spot for 3-0.
Croatia nearly added a fourth goal later in the match when substitute Toni Ruso hit the crossbar with a header, while Ollin was again forced into several important interventions throughout the evening.
Despite the difficult match Estonia continued fighting and finally found a breakthrough in the closing stages. Aston Visse capitalized on a Croatian defensive mistake, stole the ball from a defender, drove towards goal and blasted a powerful strike into the top corner to reduce the deficit and give the home crowd something to celebrate.
Attendance at Lilleküla Stadium was announced as 3004 spectators, lower than the opening game against Spain but still another strong crowd for the young Estonian side.
Estonia now remain mathematically alive in the group, although qualification chances are slim. Marko Pärnpuu’s side will conclude the group stage on Sunday against Belgium who today suffered a minimal 0-1 defeat to Spain, while Croatia bounced back from their opening 0-2 defeat against Belgium to keep their own qualification hopes alive.
Estonia U-17 vs Croatia U-17 – 1-3 (0-2)
Goals: Visse 90′ | Škafar Zuzic 2′ 35′, Benkotic 55′ (Penalty kick)
