King David meets the Dalai Lama as women flock to worship

Steve McClaren surely knew that recalling David Beckham was never going to be "low-key". Estonia's coach, Jelle Goes, referred to it in headline-speak - "Becks is back in business" - while an Estonian tabloid likened his arrival to a visit by the Dalai Lama.

"I'm sure all the girls in Estonia are very happy," Ragnar Klavan said. With his sculpted blond hair and aural bling, the 21-year-old midfielder is used to being the poster-boy here. "I'm sure there will be more women than normal in the stadium. He's like a pop star and people have been saying that he will be the most famous sports star that has come to Estonia."

Klavan very nearly seized the headlines for himself yesterday, his glancing header from an 82nd-minute corner drawing a smart tip- over from Stipe Pletikosa in the Croatian goal. It was as close as Estonia came to an equaliser as they went down 1-0. The Brazil-born forward Eduardo da Silva got the only goal after 32 minutes, spinning on the edge of the box to lash in his sixth goal of the qualifying campaign.

Croatia have also been watching the Beckham situation with interest. Slaven Bilic predicted his return following England's defeat in Zagreb, and admits to mixed feelings now that it has happened. "As Croatia coach," he said, "I'm disappointed, because he will help England to challenge, but as a football fan it is a good thing. He is a great player. Despite all the money he gets, you can see it in his eyes. He is crazy about football."

Beckham or not, Bilic is certain England will qualify for Euro 2008. "No matter how big you are," he said, "you can't go to Zagreb and Tel Aviv and win easily. The only bad result is drawing at home with Macedonia, but England won in Skopje, so England are there."

That may raise eyebrows but Estonia, it can be said with confidence, will not qualify. After an encouraging World Cup qualifying campaign in which they came fourth in a group that included Portugal, Russia and Slovakia, they lost their first five qualifiers for Euro 2008 without scoring.

With their leading scorer, Andres Oper, out with an ankle injury, and Slava Zahovaiko, the top-scorer in any league in Europe last season, omitted having not played in six months due to a contractual dispute with his new club, Al-Kaifan of Kuwait, it is not immediately obvious how they will discover a new potency.

Goes insists that results have not necessarily reflected the improvement his side have made. "I'm still convinced we are making progress," he said. "Two years ago we drew 1-1 against Russia, which as a result was great. This time we have lost 2-0 twice, but the performances were better - that's what we have to focus on. We're not going to start running backwards instead of thinking forwards. If we only taught our players to rush back they would learn nothing."

He spent most of last week trying to direct attention to yesterday's game against Croatia, and then warning of the dangers posed by England's other players, but still it was the issue of how Estonia will deal with Beckham that has gripped local observers.

The role could go to the 22-year-old Dmitry Kruglov of Lokomotiv Moscow, or to the more experienced Urmas Rooba, returning from a 15- month lay-off with an Achilles injury. "I have a lot of respect for England," Kruglov said, "but I don't fear them. Beckham is the same as me, just a football player."

That's not what Klavan would have him believe, and certainly not what the Estonian public seem to think. It may not mean much to McClaren, but Kruglov at least is speaking his language.

TALLINN AND BEYOND

CRICKET: Estonia are officially the world's worst team - 153rd and last in the ICC rankings.

TOURISM: Tallinn, the capital, is a British stag party haven - 62,836 visited in 2005.

RELIGION: Only 16 per cent of Estonians believe in God.

TOPOGRAPHY: It's low. The high point is just 318m.

FAMOUS ESTONIANS: Er... Carmen Kass (model), Erki Nool (decathlete)?

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