Tonight, the Latvian national team faced off against group leaders North Macedonia in a UEFA Nations League C match. Despite a determined effort, because of a weak second-half Latvia was narrowly defeated 0-1, with North Macedonia securing the victory through a single goal.
In the opening two minutes, both Latvia and North Macedonia launched dangerous attacks. North Macedonia struck first, followed shortly by Latvia as Eduards Daškevičs made an impressive run down the left flank, speeding past his defender to attempt a pass to national team starting-11 debutant Dario Šits. In the 11th minute, North Macedonia forced Latvia’s keeper Matrevics into action when their forward headed just wide of the goal. After this moment, North Macedonia began controlling possession, methodically working the ball forward from defense in an attempt to penetrate Latvia’s box. By the 15th minute, Daškevičs once again broke through down the left, getting close to the penalty area and delivering a cross. The North Macedonian goalkeeper deflected the ball, creating a perfect scoring opportunity for Roberts Savaļnieks, who missed the target. Immediately after, North Macedonia launched a swift counter-attack, sending a dangerous cross across Latvia’s goal and hitting the post, though it was ultimately ruled offside. The first 20 minutes saw balanced play, with both teams exchanging attacks. In the 24th minute, North Macedonia had to make a forced substitution as their star player Elmas left the field. Shortly after, Daškevičs continued his relentless pace down the left side, winning a corner for Latvia. A minute later, Lūkass Vapne found himself in a promising position after a pass from Jaunzems, but his left-footed shot went over the bar. In the 29th minute, Latvia’s full-back Roberts Savaļnieks received the game’s first yellow card. Then, in the 44th minute, a dangerous deflection nearly set up a scoring chance for North Macedonia inside Latvia’s penalty area, but the shot was blocked. As the first half drew to a close, North Macedonia applied heavy pressure, with Matrevics – who had not played in the Virslīga for several months – making critical saves to keep Latvia in the game. The first half ended in a goalless draw, 0-0.
In the opening seconds of the second half, North Macedonia came close to scoring, with a dangerous shot that sailed just over the crossbar. Only a minute later, another threatening attack saw a sharp pass across Matrevics’s goal, which fortunately didn’t find its way into the Latvian net. In the 53rd minute, Dario Šits drew a yellow card from North Macedonia’s center-back, and two minutes later, he managed to earn another yellow, this time for the second center-back, Serafimov. However, in the 57th minute, Serafimov struck back, scoring for North Macedonia. A well-placed corner kick reached Zajkov at the near post, who flicked the ball onward, allowing Serafimov to volley it into the net, bringing the score to 0-1. Latvia responded with a triple substitution in the 64th minute, bringing on Kristers Tobers, Deniss Meļņiks, and Renārs Varslavāns to inject new energy into the game. By the 70th minute, the match had settled without much offensive action until Latvia made another substitution in the 71st minute, introducing forwards Roberts Uldriķis and Vladislavs Gutkovskis. Uldriķis quickly attempted a shot, though it posed little threat to the North Macedonian goalkeeper. In the 83rd minute, as fatigue set in among the Latvian players, a North Macedonian forward slipped past Jagodinskis and forced Matrevics into a save. A minute later, Gutkovskis committed a sliding tackle, earning a yellow card. For much of the second half, the game lacked intensity, but in the 89th minute, Latvia nearly equalized. After a brilliant cross from Andrejs Cigaņiks, substitute Roberts Uldriķis headed the ball into the net, only to have the goal disallowed for offside. Moments later, Deniss Meļņiks got another chance with a header but sent it over the bar. In the final seconds, Varslavāns earned a last free-kick opportunity near midfield. All players, including goalkeeper Matrevics, moved forward, but Zelenkovs’s delivery was slightly too strong, just out of reach for Meļņiks. With that, the referee blew the final whistle, and the match ended in a 0-1 loss for Latvia.
Latvia’s lineup: Matrevics – Cigaņiks, Jagodinskis, Černomordijs, Jurkovskis, Savaļnieks (64′ Tobers) – Daškevičs (71′ Uldriķis), Zelenkovs, Vapne (64′ Varslavāns), Jaunzems (64′ Meļņiks) – Šits (71′ Gutkovskis)
The next match for the Latvian national team will be on November 17th at 16:00 against Armenia. A victory would secure 2nd place in the group, while a draw or loss would leave Latvia in 4th place.