10-woman Estonia see off Liechtenstein in FIFA world cup qualifier
While Estonia's men's national football team failed to qualify for this summer's World Cup finals in North America, the women's team won their 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup C1 clash 2–1 at home against Liechtenstein Tuesday evening, despite being down to 10 players for the bulk of the second half.
Captain Kelly Rosen was honored ahead of the match after becoming the seventh player to win 100 caps for Estonia. Rosen, a midfielder, made her debut in 2014, and scored the only goal of her international career so far against Bahrain in 2017.
The Estonian women dictated the pace at the A. Le Coq Arena for virtually the entire first half, posting a possession rate of 73 percent according to Flashscore data, making four shots on target during that time.
The breakthrough came only two minutes before halftime, when Lisandra Rannasto (Paide Linnanaiskond) was brought down on the edge of the penalty area during a counterattack, prompting the referees to award the hosts a penalty. Striker Vlada Kubassova (Ferencváros) converted from the spot, and Estonia went into the break 1–0 up.
Liechtenstein's halftime talk must have been effective, however; Joy Nzengula Steck, who plays in the Swiss top division for F.C. Aarau, equalized less than five minutes into the second half with a fine long-range effort. Estonia's situation then got even trickier in the 61st minute when Annagret Kala (Paide) fouled an opponent during a counterattack and was sent off. While no goal for Liechtenstein came from the ensuing situation, Estonia had to play the final half hour with 10 women.
Steck threatened again in the 70th minute, but 'keeper Katarina Elisabeth Käpa (FC Flora) managed to tip the strike over the bar. The hosts created some danger of their own in the last 10 minutes of regular time, but the visitors' 'keeper also did a good job, and again there was no score. However Estonia's sustained pressure eventually paid off when striker Katrin Kirpu (Åland United), who had worked tirelessly throughout the match, beat her opponent six minutes before time to take the second goal.
Estonia continue their World Cup qualifying campaign on Saturday, April 18, when fellow Baltic state Lithuania come visiting. Estonia are now third in Group C1.
The 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup finals take place in Brazil.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kristjan Kallaste
