Following Latvia’s heavy defeat to France national futsal team at the European Championship, head coach Massimiliano Bellarte stressed that the key lesson for his players lies not in tactics, but in how they mentally respond when momentum shifts against them.
Latvia’s men’s futsal team were beaten 0-5 on Sunday in Rīga in their second UEFA Futsal Euro match, despite holding the World Cup semi-finalists scoreless throughout the first half.
Bellarte felt the final scoreline did not reflect the balance of the contest. According to the Italian coach, Latvia matched France for long spells and created opportunities of their own before the decisive breakthrough.
“We played a strong first half and both teams had chances,” Bellarte explained. “The game changed completely after we conceded the opening goal.”
The coach pointed to the emotional impact of that moment as the decisive factor. After an evenly contested opening period, Latvia struggled to regain control once they fell behind early in the second half.
“You could see the emotional drop,” Bellarte said. “After that, we lost our ability to manage possession, and that made everything harder.”
Bellarte also offered a wider reflection on coaching and player development, emphasizing that learning to cope with defeat is a crucial part of progress.
“I’ve experienced far more losses than victories in my career,” he noted. “People often think a coach only teaches football and technique, but just as important is teaching players how to deal with losing. If they learn that, they can recover and be better prepared for the next match.”
Despite the five-goal margin, Bellarte expressed pride in his team and the connection they have formed with supporters during the tournament.
“The fans care about this team, and that matters,” he said. “They didn’t deserve a 0-5 defeat. That’s why it hurts. Before the match I told the players the worst possible outcome was losing – but even in loss, there is something to gain.”
Latvia will now turn their focus to the final group-stage match of the European Championship, where they face Croatia on Wednesday. The task is straightforward: win the game and on January 31 Rīga host a quarterfinal game with Latvia in it.
Source: LETA
