Tonight, November 14, the Latvian national team will face North Macedonia in a UEFA
Nations League C match. North Macedonia currently has 10 points from 4 games,
while Latvia has 4 points from the same number of matches. In the pre-match press
conference, head coach Paolo Nicolato and Riga FC defender Antonijs Černomordijs
shared their thoughts and insights on the upcoming game.
Paolo Nicolato: “North Macedonia is a strong team. The last time we met, they won
primarily because of that. Our philosophy and strategy remain the same, although we’ll try
a few new things. However, we want to play a good game and show our game.
We are not yet secure in our position on the table. The way I work with the team is not to
focus on the minimum task and then relax once it’s achieved. I ask my players to improve
their performance, to show the right attitude, and aggression on the field – these things.
Sometimes, and I emphasize sometimes, the result on the scoreboard may not be what we
want, even if we accomplish those things. But I believe that if we work correctly, if we
perform well in the aspects I mentioned, then the result will follow.
What conclusions did we draw from the last game with North Macedonia? Nothing
particularly notable. Even before that game, we knew that North Macedonia has very, very
good players, but overall, we were satisfied with that game. We believe that we played with
the right approach in that match. Yes, we need to keep improving our performance. We
know that tomorrow will be another difficult game, but we are not afraid of it.
I focus on my team’s performance in games. Since we began working together in March,
we’ve already improved a lot, but there is still much to do.”
Nicolato also commented on the call-up and the condition of Raimonds Krollis: ”Raimonds
Krollis has proven himself impeccably during this camp. He is a good player, and that’s
exactly why he’s been called up to the national team. Yes, he is ready for tomorrow’s
game.”
Antonijs Černomordijs: “As the coach mentioned, we are focused on our own actions and
performance. In the first game against North Macedonia, we tried to follow the coach’s
instructions. Some of it worked out. Despite the result, certain parts of the game were very
good. We analyzed the opponent thoroughly, as well as our own mistakes. We are
progressing game by game. If we make a mistake, we aim not to repeat it in the next
match.”