http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAKLwQ1qFKk
The Estonian team might not be choc-full of stars, but they certainly know how to find the onion sack from outside the box.
An interesting stat made its way to us from the always excellent OptaJoe earlier today, outlining the fact that our opponents this evening fired in the most shots on target from outside the box in Euro 2012 Qualifying (36) and scored the joint-most long range goals (seven).
That mightn’t sound like much on paper, but when you see it in practice, it can look pretty frightening. Observe the belter in the video above from Konstantin Vassiljev against Northern Ireland, when Vassiljev found the top corner with a laser-like accuracy we haven’t seen since Glenn Whelan beat Gianluigi Buffon at Croker in 2009.
No doubt the ever-diligent Trapattoni will be aware of Estonia’s capacity to launch thunderbolts from 25-35 yards and it will be up to Whelan and Keith Andrews to adopt a ‘none shall pass’ mantra in Tallinn this evening.
Seeing as we brought it up, it would be a shame not to take one more look at Whelan’s stunner against the Azzurri, a reminder that he is capable of more than just passing the ball, sideways, backwards and hopefully up in the air towards the front two.
Who knows, we might even see a repeat this evening, although we won’t be holding our breath.
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