FIFA.com sharpshooters Rauno Sappinen Nationality: Estonian Age: 24 Club: FC Flora Tallinn Estonia

 

Rauno Sappinen

Nationality: Estonian
Age: 24
Club: FC Flora Tallinn (Estonia)
2020 record: 26 goals in 28 matches

Sappinen’s stats for 2020 are impressive. However, while his scoring ratio – one goal every 86 minutes – was the best of his career, it was not his most successful season in terms of the number of goals: in 2018, the Estonian topped the league standings with 27 successful strikes. Having also amassed totals of 16 and 19 in the two previous seasons, Sappinen has always had an eye for goal.

Curiously, the Flora Tallinn attacker, named Estonian Young Footballer of the Year in 2015 and 2018, and Meistriliiga Player of the Year in 2017, has never been able to reproduce his performances at home whenever he has had the opportunity to export his talents abroad. His ruthlessness in front of goal in the Estonian League stands in stark contrast to his three loan spells at Beerschot Wilrijk (Belgium) in 2017/18 (two matches, no goals), Den Bosch (Netherlands) in 2018/19 (32 matches, six goals) and Domzale (Slovenia) in 2019/20 (11 matches, 2 goals).

But with his 25th birthday around the corner, perhaps Sappinen is maturing at just the right moment, given that Estonia will soon be kicking off their qualifying campaign for Qatar 2022.

Did you know?
Sappinen struck four goals in six international appearances in 2020, having previously only found the net twice in 25 previous games for Estonia, between 2015 and 2019.