Martin_Vetkal

Martin Vetkal

Martin Vetkal

Estonian footballer

Martin Vetkal (born 21 February 2004) is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Roma and the Estonia national team.[1]

Quick Facts Personal information, Date of birth ...

Club career

Vetkal made his debut with Tallinna Kalev in Estonian top tier on 21 June 2019 against FC Flora, allegedly needing a special authorisation from the federation to play being only aged 15.[2]

He became the youngest scorer ever of the Estonian Premium Liiga, scoring his first goal at 15 years and 261 days against Viljandi JK Tulevik on 9 November 2019.[3] He was considered as one of the top prospects of his generation in Europe at his very early age.[4]

Following his debut season in Estonia, he visited several Italian club such as Genova, SPAL or Sassuolo.[5] In March 2020 he did a test for Schalke 04, along with his teammate Tristan Toomas Teeväli.[6][7]

He signed for Roma in August 2020.[8] During the 2022–23 season, he was part of Roma's under-19 squad that won the Coppa Italia Primavera.[9][10]

International career

Vetkal has represented Estonia at various youth international levels.[11][12][13] He was set to play in the 2020 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, originally planned to be held in his homecountry, before the tournament was cancelled due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]

On 13 October 2023, Vetkal made his senior debut for Estonia in an Euro qualification against Azerbaijan in the 63rd minute as a substitute.[15] On 21 March 2024, he scored his first goal for the national team in a 1–5 Euro qualifying play-off loss against Poland.[16]

Career statistics

International

As of match played 21 March 2024[17]
More information National team, Year ...
    Scores and results list Estonia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Vetkal goal.
    More information No., Date ...

    Honours

    Roma U19

    References

    1. [1]
      Martin Vetkal at Soccerway. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
    2. [2]
      "Flora sai Kalevi vastu kindla võidu (galerii!)". Soccernet. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
    3. [3]
      "Vägev lõppakord: Flora veristas Maardut, Kalev jäi ellu ja noor vutimees kirjutas ajalugu". Postimees (in Estonian). 9 November 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
    4. [4]
      Gałęzewski, Michał (22 December 2019). "PKO Ekstraklasa. Kacper Urbański z Lechii Gdańsk to trzeci najmłodszy debiutant w Europie". sportowefakty.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 4 June 2020.
    5. [5]
      Voolaid, Rasmus (5 December 2019). "Premium liiga ajaloo noorim väravalööja näitab end mitmele Serie A klubile". Soccernet. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
    6. [6]
      "Saksamaa tippklubi kutsus Eesti jalgpallitalendid testimisele". Postimees (in Estonian). 2 March 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
    7. [7]
      "Saksamaa kõrgliiga kuues meeskond kutsus kaks eestlast testimisele". Delfi Sport (in Estonian). 3 March 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
    8. [8]
      Arike, Ville (27 August 2020). "Eesti jalgpallitalent sõlmis AS Romaga profilepingu". Postimees.
    9. [9]
      Di Chiaro, Michael (25 April 2023). "La Roma vince la Coppa Italia Primavera: Keramitsis stende la Fiorentina ai supplementari". Goal.com (in Italian). Retrieved 26 April 2023.
    10. [10]
      Andreuccetti, Gianluca (25 April 2023). "[FINALE] - Primavera TIM Cup, Fiorentina-Roma 1-2 d.t.s: Keramitsis regala la Coppa Italia ai giallorossi, termina l'egemonia viola". MondoPrimavera (in Italian). Retrieved 26 April 2023.
    11. [11]
      "Courte défaite face à l'Estonie (1–2)". fff.fr (in French). Retrieved 4 June 2020.
    12. [12]
      "Kõva sõna! Eesti U17 jalgpallikoondis võitis Rootsit". Delfi Sport (in Estonian). 27 August 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
    13. [13]
      "La Sub-17 conquista el Torneo de Exentos pese a caer (2–3) ante Estonia". sefutbol (in Spanish). 24 September 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
    14. [14]
      Kangur, Kristjan Jaak (24 April 2019). "Supervärava löönud Vetkal: võime mängida ükskõik kellega!". Soccernet. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
    15. [15]
      @eestijalgpall (13 October 2023). "Congratulations on Martin Vetkal's debut" – via Instagram.
    16. [16]
      "Eesti lõi Poolale värava, ent tunnistas sõelmängus kindlat kaotust". jalgpall.ee (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
    17. [17]
      "Martin Vetkal". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
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