Excuse me?! National team travels over 2,000 km for a 3-second match | OneFootball

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

Imagine this: you're playing for your own country in the World Cup qualifiers. You travel over 2,000 kilometers in the middle of the season, prepare for a day, and then want to compete against another nation on match day. But then the confusion sets in:

Along with the referee team, you go through the player tunnel – but there's no sign of the opponent. Nevertheless, the game starts, and the fans just pretend that there's a second team. The game is officially kicked off. Sounds crazy, doesn't it?

📸 Clive Brunskill

But this is exactly what happened in Europe in 1996. When the Scottish national team boarded the plane to Tallinn on October 8, 1996, everything was still normal. The next day, the team, led by captain John Collins, was supposed to face Estonia at the Kadriorg Stadium.

After landing: a quick stop at the hotel and then off to the field for the final training session. This is where the trouble began.

The Bravehearts were not satisfied with the provisional floodlight system and filed a protest with FIFA. The association reacted faster than Manuel Neuer and rescheduled the game from 6:45 pm to 3:00 pm.

So, nothing like getting started, right? Nope. Now the Estonians had something to complain about. The Eastern Europeans were not at all in agreement with the schedule change. The association feared logistical chaos and the loss of TV revenue.

Guess who didn't care at all? Right, FIFA. The world association decided that the qualifying group four game would be played at 3:00 pm – with or without Estonian participation.

And so, the next day, there were curious scenes.

While the Scottish fans – who, of course, had shown up in droves again – sang to the tune of the pop classic 'Guantanamera': "There is only one team in Tallinn", the Nordic team, led by referee Miroslav Radoman, took to the field. There was no sign of the Estonians.

The referee blew the whistle for three seconds – and then officially abandoned the game. And now the story is over? Noooo.

While some guest fans took the opportunity to kick the ball around in the Kadriorg Stadium, their national team was happy. According to the FIFA rules at the time, the game should now be awarded 3:0 to Scotland. What a miracle: the football world association had other plans again.

The FIFA rescheduled the game to a neutral location and replayed it. On February 11, 1997, the world match between Estonia and Scotland took place at the Stade Louis II in Monaco. After "breath-taking" 90 minutes, the final score was 0:0.

At least: the Bravehearts ultimately qualified for the finals in France. And in Estonia? At least one person was really happy.

📸 Clive Mason - 2007 Getty Images

National goalkeeper Mart Poom caught the attention of scouts in that 0:0 game and was signed by English club Derby County in the summer of 1997.

What do we learn from this again? In football, anything is possible. Never stop dreaming – and take a closer look at the World Cup qualifiers from June 6th. The next curious football stories are just waiting to be written.

📸 PATRICK KOVARIK