Martin Vetkal

Martin Vetkal
Personal information
Date of birth (2004-02-21) 21 February 2004 (age 22)
Place of birth Tallinn, Estonia
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Dordrecht
Number 21
Youth career
–2011 JK Püsivus Kohila
2012–2019 Tallinna Kalev
2020–2024 Roma
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Tallinna Kalev 19 (1)
2023–2024 Roma 0 (0)
2024–2025 IF Brommapojkarna 4 (0)
2025– Dordrecht 21 (0)
International career‡
2018 Estonia U16 1 (0)
2019 Estonia U17 11 (1)
2021–2023 Estonia U19 13 (1)
2022–2023 Estonia U21 5 (0)
2023– Estonia 15 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 3 February 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 2 December 2025

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

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 clubs such as Genoa, SPAL and 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] During his time with Roma, he was called up to the senior squad only once, in December 2023 for the Europa League game against Sheriff Tiraspol, and remained on the bench in that game.[11]

On 18 July 2025, Vetkal signed a three-year contract with Dordrecht in the Netherlands.[12]

International career

Vetkal has represented Estonia at various youth international levels.[13][14][15] 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.[16]

On 13 October 2023, Vetkal made his senior debut for Estonia in a Euro qualification against Azerbaijan in the 63rd minute as a substitute.[17] On 21 March 2024, he scored his first goal for the national team in a 1–5 Euro qualifying play-off loss against Poland.[18]

Career statistics

International

As of match played 21 March 2024[19]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Estonia 2023 3 0
2024 1 1
Total 4 1
Scores and results list Estonia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Vetkal goal.
List of international goals scored by Martin Vetkal [19]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 21 March 2024 National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland  Poland 1–5 1–5 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Honours

Roma U19

References

  1. ^ Martin Vetkal at Soccerway. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Flora sai Kalevi vastu kindla võidu (galerii!)". Soccernet. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  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. ^ 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. ^ Voolaid, Rasmus (5 December 2019). "Premium liiga ajaloo noorim väravalööja näitab end mitmele Serie A klubile". Soccernet. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Saksamaa tippklubi kutsus Eesti jalgpallitalendid testimisele". Postimees (in Estonian). 2 March 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Saksamaa kõrgliiga kuues meeskond kutsus kaks eestlast testimisele". Delfi Sport (in Estonian). 3 March 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  8. ^ Arike, Ville (27 August 2020). "Eesti jalgpallitalent sõlmis AS Romaga profilepingu". Postimees.
  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. ^ 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.[dead link]
  11. ^ "History: Roma 3-0 Sheriff | UEFA Europa League 2023/24 | UEFA.com". UEFA. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  12. ^ "FC Dordrecht versterkt zich met Ests international Martin Vetkal" [FC Dordrecht strengthens itself with Estonian international Martin Vetkal] (in Dutch). FC Dordrecht. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  13. ^ "Courte défaite face à l'Estonie (1–2)". fff.fr (in French). Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  14. ^ "Kõva sõna! Eesti U17 jalgpallikoondis võitis Rootsit". Delfi Sport (in Estonian). 27 August 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  15. ^ "La Sub-17 conquista el Torneo de Exentos pese a caer (2–3) ante Estonia". sefutbol (in Spanish). 24 September 2019. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  16. ^ Kangur, Kristjan Jaak (24 April 2019). "Supervärava löönud Vetkal: võime mängida ükskõik kellega!". Soccernet. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  17. ^ @eestijalgpall; (13 October 2023). "Congratulations on Martin Vetkal's debut" – via Instagram.
  18. ^ "Eesti lõi Poolale värava, ent tunnistas sõelmängus kindlat kaotust". jalgpall.ee (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Martin Vetkal". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Vetkal