The Latvia men's national football team had an unsuccessful first half in the match against Andorra, said the head coach of the national team Paolo Nicolato after the draw with the Andorrans, LETA reports.
As previously reported, on Saturday in Riga, in the qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup, the Latvia national team drew with Andorra - 2:2 (1:1).
"First of all, I want to say that it was a strange game in every sense. The first half was technically very weak. Yes, there was a strong wind, but we cannot use that as an excuse - we need to play better. In the second half, we changed the course of the game, we had about 80% possession. There were moments to score," noted Nicolato.
He emphasized that there were also individual mistakes in the actions of the Latvian team.
"Sometimes we just lack luck. In six matches, three times the ball hit the post or crossbar, we missed penalties, sometimes the ball was cleared off the goal line. It is clear that we need to play better, but sometimes good results require luck. I believe that today we deserved more," added the coach.
Nicolato noted that the Latvia national team needs to start matches at a higher level, and the fact that some players have little playing time in clubs does not help the team either. He also acknowledged that the second half performed by the Latvians was better.
"There were combinations, there were moments. Sometimes, perhaps, we lacked luck, but we must strive again and again to have more such moments in every game. I am dissatisfied with the first half, specifically the start of the game. We made a lot of technical errors in simple passes. When this happens, other aspects suffer: transitions to attack and defense, positioning, and we have to run more," said Nicolato.
The coach explained that even having more possession of the ball than the opponent does not provide a significant advantage if scoring opportunities are not created.
"We need to improve the quality of our game. We conceded two goals too easily for this level. They were too simple goals. In both cases, we had tactical errors in positioning, and the reaction could have been quicker. There's nothing to be done, we have to accept it. Our level is such now, and we need to consider that mistakes are possible," said the Italian specialist.
The leader of Group K in the qualifiers is the England national team with 15 points from five matches. Albania has eight points, and Serbia has seven points from four games. The Latvia national team has five points after six matches, while Andorra has one.
On Tuesday, the Latvians will play at home against the England national team.
The final tournament of the World Cup with 48 teams will take place in Canada, Mexico, and the USA in June and July 2026.
