The national team has now not won in 13 games.

The last victory came in January 2023, again against Finland in a home friendly, which Estonia won 1-0.

On the day, Arsenal goalkeeper Karl Jakob Hein, 21, was entrusted with the captain's armband.

Manager Thomas Häberli made six changes to the lineup, mainly in defense, which went down 5-1 away to Poland in last Thursday's Euro2024 playoff encounter.

Right-back Kristo Hussar (FC Flora), central defenders Märten Kuusk (GKS Katowice) and Erko Tõugjas (FC Flora), left-back Artur Pikk (Odra Opole) midfilder Markus Poom (Shamrock Rovers) and veteran striker Henri Anier (Hong Kong League XI) all started.

Striker Alex Matthias Tamm (Nõmme Kalju), scorer of Estonia's sole goal, said afterwards that the match had been "a very physical game. We came onto the pitch with a high desire. We wanted to win, but, unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way."

"All-in-all, I can't complain, it's just that a couple of careless mistakes happened," he went on.

Tamm said he couldn't recall much about the goal he scored, "only that Henri Anier sent me a very nice through ball and I was in the right place at the right time."

The Finns did not have to wait long for their opening goal, off a penalty on the 29th minute following a foul from Poom.

While Hein initially saved Fredrik Jensen's (FC Augsburg) shot, the Finn scored on the rebound.

Jensen again was involved in the second goal, on the 38th minute, after his shot hit the crossbar and deflected off Artur Pikk and then Hein for an own goal.

Manager Häberli made a substitution after the break, replacing Martin Vetkal (AS Roma) with Mihkel Ainsalu (FCI Levadia) in midfield.

The second half however saw the Finns start still in control, though a 57th minute strike, which found the net, was ruled offside.

A few minutes later, Estonia's goal came. Poom delivered a corner kick into the penalty area, Henri Anier flicked it on with a header allowing Tamm to score, also off the head.

This was the first time Tamm, 22, had scored for his country.

The scoreline stayed like this through to the final whistle. The only other noteworthy development was veteran midfielder Konstantin Vassiljev taking the pitch with two minutes of regular time to go. This was his 157th appearance for the national team equaling the record set by Martin Reim.

Estonia managed five shots on goal in the first half, three of which were on-target. This was an improvement on the Poland performance, when Estonia attempted only one shot on goal.

Estonia next plays Switzerland away, on June 4.

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