At the Daugava Stadium in Riga, Serbia secured a hard-fought 1–0 victory over Latvia in FIFA World Cup qualifying, but they were made to sweat until the final whistle. A first-half strike from Dušan Vlahović proved to be the difference, while Latvia came agonizingly close to equalizing in stoppage time when Renārs Varslavāns rattled the post.
From the opening whistle, Serbia stamped their authority on possession. Their early pressure nearly paid off in the 5th minute as Luka Jović’s header from a left-wing cross sailed just over the bar. Latvia quickly reminded their visitors they were not just spectators, however, with Andrejs Cigaņiks threading Varslavāns through on goal. His effort, though well-timed, lacked the power to trouble Serbia’s goalkeeper.
Moments later, the breakthrough came. A slick exchange between veteran Aleksandar Katai and Juventus forward Vlahović sliced open Latvia’s back line. Vlahović clinically finished low into the bottom right corner in the 12th minute, giving Serbia an early advantage.
Serbia continued to press for a second. Jović thought he had doubled the lead, only to see his goal ruled out for offside. Latvia, while showing promising passages of play, repeatedly faltered in the final third. The halftime whistle left the hosts trailing 0-1 with much work ahead.
Latvia’s head coach Paolo Nicolato acted decisively at the interval, making three substitutions to inject fresh energy. The hosts grew more disciplined defensively and looked increasingly dangerous on the counter. Goalkeeper Krišjānis Zviedris was called upon several times to keep Latvia within touching distance, making key saves against a confident Serbian attack.
Latvia’s best chance of the second half at that point came in the 71st minute, when Varslavāns again tested the Serbian defense with a shot from a tight angle, only for it to be turned away. Nicolato handed 20-year-old Bruno Melnis his competitive debut in the 77th minute.
The match nearly exploded into late drama. In added time, Varslavāns found himself in space and unleashed a strike that cannoned off the post. Dario Šits pounced on the rebound, but a Serbian defender heroically blocked the follow-up to preserve the visitors’ lead.
The final whistle confirmed Serbia’s narrow escape, with Vlahović’s early goal proving decisive. For Latvia, it was a tale of missed opportunities and fine margins – a performance full of fight but ultimately without reward.
Next up, Latvia travel to Tirana to face Albania, where they will look to convert their resilience into points. Serbia, meanwhile, will be relieved to walk away from Riga with three valuable points in their qualifying campaign.
Latvia vs Serbia – 0:1 (0:1)
Goals: Vlahovic 12’
LAT: Zviedris, Jaunzems (Savaļnieks 83’), Jurkovskis, Balodis, Jagodinskis (Meļņiks 46’), Cigaņiks, Zelenkovs, Vapne, Saveļjevs (Vapne 46’), J.Ikaunieks (Šits 46’), Gutkovskis (Melnis 77’)
SRB: Petrovic, Veljkovic, Milenkovic, Pavlovic, Zivkovic, Ilic (Terzic 82’), Lukic (Gudelj 68’), Katai (Samardzic 46’), Kostic (Mitrovic 82’), Vlahovic, Jovic (Maksimov 74’)
