Estonia’s visit to Oslo ended in a 1-4 defeat against Norway, and although the opening half offered plenty of encouragement, head coach Jürgen Henn admitted afterward that the final outcome left a bitter taste.
Estonia delivered a disciplined, organised performance before the break, reaching halftime with a clean sheet and confidence that their game plan was working. But all momentum shifted early in the second period: Norway needed just 12 frantic minutes after the restart to score four times and take full control. Estonia’s lone bright moment came late on when Robi Saarma celebrated his first goal for the national team.
“It’s hard to walk away with a good feeling,” Henn said. “The first half went the way we wanted, and we even had stretches in the second half that were fine, but we must find ways to stay in the game longer. Ultimately, the negative emotion dominates. We knew what kind of intensity to expect from Norway, yet today we weren’t able to match it for the full 90 minutes.”
Asked about the approach to limiting Erling Haaland, Henn explained that Estonia didn’t focus on a single player, but rather on Norway’s entire attacking setup.
“For about 75 minutes we handled things reasonably well,” he noted. “Then came a few key moments where we switched off, and a team of that calibre will punish you immediately. Their delivery from wide areas is exceptional – we knew that – and although we restricted them early on, those crosses became our undoing in the second half.”
With all four Norwegian goals coming from balls into the box, three of them headers, questions surfaced about Estonia’s physical presence in central defense.
“It’s not only about height,” Henn said, “but yes, without Joonas Tamm and Maksim Paskotši, we lacked a bit of physical match-up in certain duels. Rasmus Peetson has played at centre-back before, but compared to Norway’s size and power, we were at a disadvantage today.”
He added that Estonia were positioned correctly defensively, but the decisive moments came down to athletic difference. “When players like theirs attack the ball at full speed, we can get caught. We needed to engage earlier and stay tighter in the box. In those situations we didn’t succeed, even though we had prepared for them.”
Despite Norway’s dominance, Estonia were not content to simply sit back.
“We wanted to break up their rhythm, frustrate them, but also show that we can play football as well,” Henn explained. “The danger was always that if we opened up too much, they’d hit us quickly. It’s a constant search for the right balance.”
As for whether Estonia will stick with a five-man defensive line moving forward, Henn said the decision isn’t final.
“We’ll look at the match in detail,” he said. “There were definitely elements that worked, but it’s too early to say whether this will be our long-term setup.”
Estonia will now travel to Cyprus where they will play an away friendly game next Tuesday to play their last match of the calendar year.
