The New Saints travel to Estonia for the first leg of their UEFA Conference League second qualifying round tie against Flora Tallinn on Thursday (KO 17:00 BST).
The Saints have dropped into the UEFA Conference League – the competition in which they made history by reaching the League Phase in 2024/25 – after losing 4-1 on aggregate to Azerbaijani side Sabah in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round.
Craig Harrison’s team will aim to avoid the same fate as last year when they were beaten 2-0 on aggregate by Differdange 03 of Luxembourg at this stage, exiting European competition in the process.
Craig Harrison is unlikely to make too many changes to his starting XI from last week’s defeat to Sabah at Park Hall, but Josh Lock may have given his manager something to think about after coming off the bench to score on his European debut.
There was also a half-hour cameo from Isaac Jefferies, who returned to action after four months on the sidelines, and could feature again if the Saints need more attacking impetus.
Flora have also dropped into the UEFA Conference League following defeat in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round – they suffered a 5-4 aggregate loss to Georgian outfit Iberia 1999.
Estonia’s most successful club with a record 16 league titles to their name, Flora made history by becoming the first team from the Baltic nation to reach the group stage of the UEFA Conference League in the 2021/22 season. However, they have won just one of eight European ties since then.
Midway through the 2026 campaign, they currently sit second in the Meistriliiga table – 10 points behind FCI Levadia who triumphed 10-0 on aggregate over Caernarfon Town in the UEFA Conference League first qualifying round.
Flora’s squad is exclusively made up of Estonian natives and managed by their country’s most-capped player Konstantin Vassiljev, who also spent the final five years of his playing career at the club.
Among the internationally capped players in the squad, 37-year-old winger Sergei Zenjov has 114 Estonia appearances to his name, while striker Rauno Sappinen scored against Italy in World Cup qualifying last year. Captain Rauno Alliku, 36, is the club’s record appearance holder with over 550 games since 2009.
At the other end of their careers, teenage forwards Tony Varjund and Sander Alamaa are exciting prospects and both netted in the Champions League over the last fortnight. Defenders Mihhail Kolobov (21), Robert Veering (20) and Sander Tovstik (20) have all already been capped by the national team.
The winner of the tie will meet Andorran side Inter Club d’Escaldes in the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round.
