The Latvia men's national football team will continue to be led by Italian specialist Paolo Nicolato at least until April next year, reports the Latvian Football Federation (LFF), according to LETA.
Nicolato became the head coach of the Latvia national team in February 2024, and the contract signed at that time expired at the end of November. On Friday, the board of the Latvian Football Federation (LFF) decided to extend the agreement with the Italian until April 2026.
In March next year, the Latvia national team will face playoff matches to retain its place in League C of the UEFA Nations League — two matches against Gibraltar are scheduled.
"By mutual agreement with the coach, we decided to extend the contract until the end of the UEFA Nations League playoff matches. After that, we will sit down for negotiations again and discuss the strategy for the future together," said LFF President Vadim Lyashenko.
"The upcoming gathering in March gives us a great opportunity. I am glad that we managed to reach an agreement that allows us to continue the work we started. I thank the LFF board and the president," Nicolato commented on the four-month contract extension.
Under the leadership of 58-year-old Nicolato, the Latvia national team played 20 matches, achieving three victories, seven draws, and ten losses.
Before being appointed head coach of the Latvian national team, Nicolato worked with youth teams in Italy for seven years.
Under his guidance, the Italy national team finished second at the U-19 European Championship, losing to Portugal in the final after extra time with a score of 3:4. In 2019, he led the Italian team to a fourth-place finish at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Previously, in the 2013/2014 season, Nicolato won the Primavera youth championship of Italy with the U-19 team of Chievo. From 2014 to 2016, he coached the team Lumezzane in Serie C — the third tier of Italian football.
