Baltic hosts face World Cup semifinalists in the next group stage match

In their second matches of the UEFA Futsal European Championship group stage, both Baltic nations will take to the court in front of home crowds on Sunday evening, each facing the last FIFA World Cup semifinalists. Latvia national futsal team will host France national futsal team at Arena Rīga, while Lithuania national futsal team welcome Ukraine national futsal team at Žalgiris Arena. Both matches kick off at 17:00 local time.

Latvia enjoyed a dream debut at the European Championship finals, opening their campaign with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Georgia national futsal team. The result made Latvia the first debutant nation in Futsal Euro history to record a clean-sheet win in their opening match.

Latvia’s standout performer was reigning Latvian Futsal Player of the Year Edgars Tarakanovs, who scored twice in the second half. Team captain Germans Matjušenko netted Latvia’s first-ever goal at a European Championship finals, while Andrejs Baklanovs sealed the result with a late finish into an almost empty net.

In goal, 21-year-old Rainers Mūrnieks of Riga Futsal Club delivered an outstanding performance, saving all 19 shots on target.

France, Latvia’s next opponent, sit 10th in the FIFA futsal world rankings. While this is only their second European Championship appearance – having debuted in 2018 without advancing from the group – the French have rapidly emerged as a major force. Two years ago, they reached the semifinals at the Futsal World Cup, finishing fourth overall.

France opened this tournament with a 2-2 draw against Croatia national futsal team, conceding a late equaliser. Sunday’s match will mark the first-ever futsal meeting between Latvia and France. Earlier on Sunday, Georgia and Croatia will face each other in the other Group A fixture at Arena Rīga.

In Kaunas, Lithuania will look to build on an encouraging, if bittersweet, opening match. In their European Championship debut, Lithuania were just 32 seconds away from a historic win before settling for a 3-3 draw against Czech Republic national futsal team.

Edgaras Baranauskas scored Lithuania’s first-ever goal at the Futsal Euros, with Ignas Raštutis and Vladimir Derendiajev also finding the net. Captain Justinas Zagurskas contributed two assists.

Ukraine, however, represent a significant challenge. Two-time European Championship runners-up, Ukraine have failed to advance from the group stage only once in their last eight appearances at the tournament. Ranked eighth in the FIFA world rankings, they are under pressure after a surprise 1-2 defeat to tournament debutants Armenia national futsal team in their opening match.

Ukraine will be seeking a must-win result to keep their knockout-stage hopes alive. The historical record favours them: the two nations have met three times in the past two years, with Ukraine winning all three encounters (5-2, 7-0, and 5-3).

In the other Group fixture, Armenia will attempt another upset as they take on the Czech Republic.