Estonia will be facing Malta and San Marino in Group D2 of the UEFA Nations League after losing 2-0 to Cyprus in the second leg of the play-out at the AEK Arena in Larnaca on Tuesday.

Following the goalless draw in the first leg, Marinos Tzionis put Cyprus ahead on the 19th minute with a powerful rising shot which beat the Estonia goalkeeper.

Two minutes in the second half, Cyprus had Danilo Spoljaric sent off after receiving a second yellow card but on the 51st minute, they still managed to double the score thanks to Pieros Sotirou.

Cyprus, therefore, secured a spot in League C after winning 2-0 on aggregate.

Malta and Estonia met six times, twice in World Cup qualifiers when Malta was held in a goalless draw at Ta’ Qali in October 1992 with the boys in red winning 1-0 away from home in May 1993.

In 2004, Malta defeated Estonia 5-2 in the Malta international Tournament and four years later in a friendly match away from home, Estonia registered a 2-1 win. In 2016, the two teams shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw in Estonia while in 2017, Malta suffered a 0-3 defeat to Estonia at Ta’ Qali in a friendly match which marked the debut of Tom Saintfiet as Malta coach.

After playing San Marino on June 5 away from home, Malta hosts Estonia on June 9 and then San Marino on June 12. Malta plays the final match from the group on September 23 away from home to Estonia.

In the first two editions of the UEFA Nations League, they participated in League C, twice ending at the bottom of their group. 

In the European Qualifiers leading to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Estonia played in Group E which featured Belgium, Wales, the Czech Republic and Belarus, earning four points, defeating Belarus 2-0 and holding Wales in a goalless draw. They are currently ranked 106th.