The head coach of the Latvia national football team, Paolo Nicolato, after the defeat to the Faroe Islands in the third-place match of the Baltic Cup, stated that the team made too many mistakes but was able to find players who could strengthen the national team in the future.
The Latvia national team finished its performance at the Baltic Cup without medals, losing the third-place match to the Faroe Islands 0:1. After the game, the head coach of the team, Paolo Nicolato, acknowledged that the result was unsuccessful, but he also noted some positive aspects.
According to the coach, throughout the match, the Latvian players occasionally controlled the pace of the game and tried to play offensively.
"Overall, some things went quite well for us. The players did everything they could, but the team is a bit tired right now," Nicolato noted.
The coach believes that the outcome of the match was largely determined by the Latvian team's own mistakes. In his assessment, the opponent had too many opportunities to score.
"I don’t know if we deserved to lose, but we gave the opponent three very good chances. At this level, that’s too much," the specialist admitted.
Nicolato paid special attention to the problems in attack. According to him, the team still lacks quality in the finishing stage, especially when the opponent plays defensively and leaves little space.
This problem became even more noticeable due to the absence of several team leaders. In such conditions, it was harder for the team to create and convert dangerous chances.
For Latvian fans, an important signal may be another observation from the coaching staff. Nicolato stated that during the tournament, they were able to assess several players who could help the national team in the future. According to him, this became one of the main outcomes of the current Baltic Cup edition.
The coach also explained the early substitution of defender Roberts Veips. It was not related to gameplay reasons, but rather to the player’s deteriorating condition during the match.
The Latvia national team approached the third-place match after losing in the semifinals to Lithuania. The regular time of that match ended 1:1, but in the penalty shootout, the Lithuanian players were stronger.
In the final of the Baltic Cup, Estonia defeated Lithuania 1:0.
The Baltic Cup remains one of the oldest international tournaments among national teams. Its history began back in 1928, and the current edition once again showed that even traditional regional competitions remain an important platform for testing rosters and searching for new players for national teams.
