Baltic Football News reports from Yerevan, where Latvia will begin their new UEFA Nations League campaign against Armenia on Friday evening. Just one hour after arriving in the Armenian capital, head coach Paolo Nicolato and goalkeeper Frenks Dāvids Orols attended the official pre-match press conference, with both highlighting physical duels as one of the keys to getting a positive result.
Latvia arrived in Yerevan on Thursday evening on a charter flight from Rīga, which was delayed by around an hour, before heading directly from the airport to their pre-match media duties. The Latvian national team opted not to hold an official training session at the match venue, with the players only stepping onto the pitch to get a feel for the surface.
Meanwhile, Nicolato and Orols spoke to the media inside the stadium. The Italian head coach confirmed that his starting eleven for Friday’s match has already been decided, while also emphasising that Latvia must improve in the attacking phase if they are to begin the new Nations League cycle with a victory.
Frenks, what are the feelings ahead of tomorrow’s match?
Good, positive feelings. It is a new cycle with new opportunities, so I am happy to be here.
What do you think about this unusually long international window, with four matches in 11 days?
I think it is good. The guys enjoy being here and we get to spend more time together. With four matches, everyone has a bigger opportunity to show themselves and a greater chance of getting on the pitch.
Latvia have lost their last two matches here in Armenia. You were not involved in those games, but what will be the main key to finally getting a victory here in Yerevan?
The main thing will be the duels. If we win those, then we can hope and think about getting a positive result.
Two of the youngest debutants in the squad are Markuss Strods and Alberts Aleksanjans. How have they settled into the team?
I think they have settled in very well. You can see that they are young players with potential, and in my opinion the team has welcomed them very well.
Nicolato: We need to score to win
Coach, when you announced the squad, you spoke about wanting to finally get some wins. What will be the key to doing that here in Armenia?
It will not be easy, that is for sure. I think everyone wants to win and Armenia will want the same. First, we need to compete in terms of physicality, and then we need to focus on our strategy. I want us to pay more attention to our play in the offensive phase. We need to score to win.
We have prepared for this match in only a few days, or really just one day. We need to enjoy this match.
Armenia are missing several players who would likely have been starters. Does that change your preparation for the game?
No. We are also missing some players and had some last-minute problems, so we are focusing on our own team. We are not in a position where we can think too much about the others at this moment. We want to improve our approach, improve our team and be different from two years ago here. We want to produce a good performance, and that is what we need to focus on.
Armenia have changed coaches several times since Latvia last played here. When analysing the current team, do you see many differences compared to the Armenia you faced previously?
Many things are different now. I think the current coach is doing very well. They have some very interesting principles and I have seen a team that is playing very well and trying to play interesting football.
Without asking you to reveal the starting line-up, around 23 hours before kick-off are there still some 50-50 decisions in your mind, or have you already decided on your starting eleven?
Yes, my starting eleven is set.
Denniss Cirkins received a red card in his last league match for QPR. Does that change the original agreement with the club that he would only play Latvia’s first two matches of this window?
We have to talk about it with the club. I think after these two games there could be some possibility, but it does not depend on us, to be honest. We will see.
