Estonia head coach Jürgen Henn was pleased with his side’s controlled performance in their 1-0 UEFA Nations League victory over Luxembourg, highlighting the national team’s defensive progress and the development made over the past two and a half years.
Rasmus Peetson’s early goal proved enough to secure Estonia’s first victory of the Nations League campaign at the A. Le Coq Arena. After three matches, Estonia have collected five points while conceding just once.
“Overall, we had more and better chances,” Henn said at his post-match press conference. “Possession was relatively even in the end, but it is also important where and how you have the ball. In that respect, there was no question that we were better and created the better opportunities.”
Henn did not believe the victory could be attributed to one particular tactical detail. Instead, he viewed the performance as another product of the work Estonia have done throughout his time in charge.
“It wasn’t down to one thing that we did well. For two and a half years, we have been steering the whole process in this direction, finding the right personalities and the strengths of the team. I knew what level of effort and unity was required to get results at international level. The players understand that.”
Answering on which specific players he considered the right personalities for the team, Henn preferred not to single anyone out.
“I meant more that we have found the right people for the right positions. We have also managed to get even more out of the players.”
Estonia’s defensive record has been particularly impressive. They have conceded only once in their opening three Nations League matches, while Henn pointed out that the positive trend stretches further back.
“If you look only at this year, or include the Cyprus match from last year as well, there are quite a lot of positive signs. We have conceded only one goal in our last five matches. But this international window isn’t over and this Nations League cycle isn’t over. We have to keep working.”
The victory leaves Estonia second in their Nations League group halfway through the six-match campaign. Henn, however, is not yet placing much importance on the standings.
“It doesn’t affect how we approach the next matches. Maybe towards the end of the final games we’ll start looking at what we need to do to steer things safely into port, but right now the table doesn’t tell me anything particularly important.”
Estonia did receive some less positive news despite the victory. Captain Karol Mets will miss Tuesday’s home match against Iceland through suspension, while fellow central defenders Märten Kuusk and Maksim Paskotši collided painfully during the closing stages against Luxembourg.
Henn was optimistic that neither had suffered anything serious.
“If there are any knocks or impacts, we’ll know more tomorrow, but at the moment it didn’t seem like anything serious.”
Erko Jonne Tõugjas appears to be the most natural option to replace Mets. The defender already featured against Bulgaria during this international window, although on that occasion he played alongside the Estonia captain rather than replacing him.
“One of the reasons why we used both Erko and Märten during this window was because we knew something like this could happen,” Henn explained.
“Fortunately, we have a proper replacement for Karol, although as captain and with his personality, he obviously gives us a lot both on and off the pitch.”
There is also uncertainty surrounding first-choice goalkeeper Karl Jakob Hein, who was left out of the starting XI against Luxembourg because of a minor adductor problem. Matvei Igonen replaced him and kept a clean sheet as Estonia held on for the 1-0 victory.
Hein’s availability against Iceland will depend on the results of further medical examinations.
“He will now undergo an additional examination, which will show how big the risk is of the injury getting worse,” Henn said.
With five points from three matches and only one goal conceded, Estonia have put themselves in a promising position at the halfway point of their Nations League campaign. Henn’s immediate focus, however, remains on continuing that progress when Estonia host Iceland on Tuesday.
Source: https://soccernet.ee/artikkel/henn-polnud-kusimust-et-olime-paremad
