9 September 2009 - A Man Who Can Keep His Own Laundry Clean

On 9 September 2009, Spain defeated Estonia in a World Cup qualifier. The win booked their place at the 2010 World Cup and secured a national team clean sheet record for keeper Iker Casillas.

Played before a crowd of 14,362 at the Estadio Romano in Mérida, the hosts posted a first-half lead with a goal from midfielder Cesc Fabregas in the 33rd minute. But Estonia kept the match close with a couple of narrow misses and maintained the one-goal deficit deep into the second half. Spain finally managed to extend their lead when substitute Santi Cazorla found the net in the 79th minute. Fellow substitute Juan Manuel Garcia Mata added a final goal in the 90th minute.

The win ensured that Spain would finish at the top of their qualification group and advance to the World Cup. By keeping Estonia scoreless, the match also counted as Casillas' record-breaking 56th clean sheet for Spain, one more than previous record holder Andoni Zubizarreta.

9 September 2009 - A Man Who Can Keep His Own Laundry Clean

On 9 September 2009, Spain defeated Estonia in a World Cup qualifier. The win booked their place at the 2010 World Cup and secured a national team clean sheet record for keeper Iker Casillas.

Played before a crowd of 14,362 at the Estadio Romano in Mérida, the hosts posted a first-half lead with a goal from midfielder Cesc Fabregas in the 33rd minute. But Estonia kept the match close with a couple of narrow misses and maintained the one-goal deficit deep into the second half. Spain finally managed to extend their lead when substitute Santi Cazorla found the net in the 79th minute. Fellow substitute Juan Manuel Garcia Mata added a final goal in the 90th minute.

The win ensured that Spain would finish at the top of their qualification group and advance to the World Cup. By keeping Estonia scoreless, the match also counted as Casillas' record-breaking 56th clean sheet for Spain, one more than previous record holder Andoni Zubizarreta.

9 October 1996 - Things Are Never That Easy For Scotland

On 9 October 1996, a World Cup qualifier kicked off with only one team on the pitch when the other one refused to show up.

Scotland had traveled to Tallinn for a game against Estonia that was originally scheduled to be played at 6:45 pm local time. Estonia had rented temporary truck-mounted floodlights for the game, but Scotland manager Craig Brown believed that they were too low and failed to fully illuminate the pitch. A FIFA official inspected the stadium on 8 October and decided that the game should go ahead as scheduled.

Brown took his complaints to FIFA, who agreed later that night to reschedule the match for 3:00 pm. Scotland duly arrived at that time the following day only to find that they were the only ones there. Estonia had refused to agree to the time change, claiming that their players could not be available on such short notice. Believing their hosts had forfeited the match, Scotland kicked off while their supporters sang "there's only one team in Tallinn" and the referee blew the final whistle after only three seconds.

Just under a month later, over Scotland's protests, FIFA decided that the match should be rescheduled rather than go down as a forfeit. The teams met in Monaco on 7 February 1997 and played to a scoreless draw.

Despite the loss of the two points, Scotland still qualified for the 1998 World Cup while Estonia did not.

5 October 1996 - That's An Anniversary Nobody Wants To Reach

On 5 October 1996, Estonia ended a near three-year winless streak when they beat Belarus in a World Cup qualifier.

Their prior win was a 2-0 victory over Liechtenstein in a friendly on 14 October 1993, which they then followed with twelve straight defeats. The winless streak extended to 34 games, including only six draws. The last of those 34 was a 1-0 away loss to Belarus in a qualifier for the 1998 World Cup in August 1996.

Two months later, Estonia hosted Belarus in Tallinn for the return fixture. It was a physcial game, with injuries forcing both sides to make first-half substitutions, but a clean one, with only three yellow cards. The highlight for Estonia came in the 52nd minute when central defender Sergei Hohlov-Simson put the ball past the Belarus goalkeeper. It was the day's only goal, giving Estonia their first win in almost three years.

Unfortunately for Estonia, the win did not signal a significant shift in fortune. Although they went on to get wins against Indonesia, Andorra, and Cyprus over the next five months, they failed to qualify for the World Cup, finishing next to last in their group, with Belarus as the only team below them.

24 April 1996 - I Think There's A Greek Play About This

On 24 April 1996, Iceland striker Arnór Guðjohnsen was replaced at the break by his son, Eiður. It was the closest the two ever got to playing together professionally.

The occasion was a friendly against Estonia in Tallinn. Arnór, then 34 years old, had played for Iceland since 1979 while playing his club ball for a number of teams including Anderlecht and Bordeaux. His 17-year old son, Eiður, who was then playing for PSV, was making his debut for the Iceland senior squad.

The two had hoped to play together, but Eggert Magnússon, the president of the Icelandic Football Federation wanted that historic moment to happen on home soil, so he instructed manager Logi Ólafsson not to field them at the same time against Estonia. Still, when Eiður replaced Arnór at the break, it was the first time in the history of the national team that a son came on as a substitute for his father. Iceland went on to win the match 0-3 with a hat-trick from Bjarki Gunnlaugsson (6', 20', 30').

Unfortunately for the Guðjohnsens, they never did get to play alongside each other. One month after the win over Estonia, Eiður broke his ankle while playing for the U18s and did not recover before the end of his father's international career.

9 September 2009 - A Man Who Can Keep His Own Laundry Clean

On 9 September 2009, Spain defeated Estonia in a World Cup qualifier. The win booked their place at the 2010 World Cup and secured a national team clean sheet record for keeper Iker Casillas.

Played before a crowd of 14,362 at the Estadio Romano in Mérida, the hosts posted a first-half lead with a goal from midfielder Cesc Fabregas in the 33rd minute. But Estonia kept the match close with a couple of narrow misses and maintained the one-goal deficit deep into the second half. Spain finally managed to extend their lead when substitute Santi Cazorla found the net in the 79th minute. Fellow substitute Juan Manuel Garcia Mata added a final goal in the 90th minute.

The win ensured that Spain would finish at the top of their qualification group and advance to the World Cup. By keeping Estonia scoreless, the match also counted as Casillas' record-breaking 56th clean sheet for Spain, one more than previous record holder Andoni Zubizarreta.