The same teams opened the cycle on September 26 in Reykjavik, drawing 1-1, with Andri Guðjohnsen (Blackburn Rovers), son of former Chelsea legend Eiður Guðjohnsen, scoring in the 45th minute and defender Maksim Paskotši (KAA Ghent) later equalizing.

Estonia came into the game knowing a win would put them top of the group with two rounds left, and having beaten Luxembourg at the weekend.

Estonia sat second on five points before the match, two behind Iceland, and were without captain Karol Mets (VfL Bochum) through suspension — Paskotši wore the armband in his absence.

Elron put its last train to Keila 25 minutes back in the timetable Tuesday night to accommodate fans, and President Alar Karis, who leaves office on Monday, was present at the match, as was Estonian FA (EJK) President Aivar Pohlak.

On the night, Iceland created two dangerous situations from set pieces early on, with both requiring referee decisions on penalty appeals. The most threatening came in the 12th minute, when a corner struck Levadia midfielder Rasmus Peetson at the near post and Estonian goalkeeper Matvei Igonen (Degerfors) cleared the ball off the goal line.

Peetson has so far emerged as Estonia's most dangerous attacking player in this Nations League window, and he proved it in the first half: early on, Iceland's 'keeper Hákon Valdimarsson (Brentford) dealt with his effort toward the far corner, and in the closing minutes of the half Peetson sent a strong shot into Valdimarsson's body after a good pass from Patrik Kristal.

An hour in, striker Patrik Kristal turned brilliantly on the right and delivered an accurate cross for Estonia into the Icelandic box, but substitute Mattias Käit and Kristal's teammate at FC Thun failed to connect with his head, and the ball fell to forward Robi Saarma (K Pardubice), who was completely unmarked but not ready in time.

Estonia had 13 shots over the match and continued searching for a winner, with manager Jürgen Henn handing a debut to young Levadia midfielder Maksimilian Skvortsov. Iceland were more dangerous in the final quarter-hour, however, but Paskotši, Erko Jonne Tõugjas (Halmstads BK) and Märten Kuusk (Polonia Warsaw) all defended well.

"Very positive result, although we came to win," captain-for-a-night Paskotši told ERR post-match. "Against this team, two draws is quite a good result. Hard fight, lots of running and duels. It maybe wasn't the most beautiful game, but for me as a defender: I really enjoyed it!"

"I knew what group we're actually in. Maybe our previous results haven't been the best, but in this window we showed that these are the games we have to do properly," he said. "I want to really praise all the players. Both those who started and those who came on: they did so much and I hope our fans see that too," he went on.

The UEFA Nations League is a biennial competition in which Europe's national teams are divided into four tiers, with promotion and relegation between them and a path to the European Championship playoffs.

After Tuesday, Iceland lead Group C4 on eight points, Estonia are second with six, while Bulgaria have four points and Luxembourg three.

The next and final fixtures are on November 13 (away to Luxembourg) and November 16 (at home against Bulgaria).

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!