Baltic Cup 2026 opening semifinal match in Darius and Girenas Stadium in Kaunas ended with Lithuania winning the match on penalties against Latvia 1-1 (5-4 after p.k.), moving on to the big final which will be played on Tuesday.
Both teams handed out debuts before kick-off. Lithuania head coach Edgaras Jankauskas gave first senior appearances to FK TransINVEST duo Edvinas Kloniūnas and Domantas Šluta, while Latvia head coach Paolo Nicolato awarded a first national team cap to Riga FC goalkeeper Frenks Dāvids Orols. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Kristaps Grabovskis, who made his debut against England last October, was handed his first start for the national team.
Lithuania began brighter and nearly took the lead in the third minute when Torino midfielder Gvidas Gineitis fired wide from distance. Latvia responded through Grabovskis in the 11th minute, but his effort sailed way over the crossbar.
The hosts controlled possession during the opening stages before Latvia gradually settled into the contest. Lithuania registered their first shot on target in the 21st minute when Eligijus Jankauskas tested Orols, but the goalkeeper gathered comfortably.
Latvia’s first major opportunity arrived two minutes later. Andrejs Cigaņiks released Grabovskis down the flank, and the winger drove into the penalty area before cutting the ball back for Lūkass Vapne. The midfielder looked set to score from a central position, but his effort was blocked by a Lithuanian defender.
Lithuania broke the deadlock in the 28th minute. Orols’ goal kick was won in midfield by Edgaras Utkus, and with the Latvian defence caught out of position, Armandas Kučys found himself through on goal. The Slovenia-based striker showed composure to lift the ball over Orols and make it 1-0.
The hosts nearly doubled their lead moments later when Kučys found himself in another excellent position, but this time Orols produced an important save from close range.
Latvia immediately threatened on the counter-attack following the resulting corner kick. A three-on-one break ended with Eduards Emsis striking the post, while Dario Šits was unable to convert the rebound as he fired over the crossbar.
Lithuania continued to look dangerous on the break. A well-worked one-two between Justas Lasickas and Eligijus Jankauskas carved open the Latvian defence, but Jankauskas failed to hit the target after rounding the goalkeeper. At the other end, Roberts Savaļnieks missed the target with a dangerous free-kick shortly before half-time.
Both coaches made changes during the interval. Matijus Remeikis replaced Tomas Kalinauskas for Lithuania, while Maksims Toņiševs came on for Vitālijs Jagodinskis in the Latvian side.
Lithuania produced the first effort on target after the restart when Lasickas tested Orols from outside the penalty area in the 51st minute, but the Latvian goalkeeper was equal to the effort.
Latvia found their equaliser in the 60th minute. After a sustained spell of possession, Cigaņiks delivered an inviting cross into the penalty area and substitute Toņiševs met it with a diving header to score his first goal for the Latvian national team and level the score at 1-1.
The remainder of the match was tightly contested, with both teams aware that a draw would send the tie to penalties. Latvia came closest to finding a winner in the 84th minute when Mārtiņš Ķigurs found space just inside the penalty area, but his shot was blocked by Utkus.
Set-piece opportunities arrived for both sides during stoppage time, but neither team could find a breakthrough as the semi-final headed to a penalty shootout to determine who would advance to Tuesday’s final.
In the penalty shootout, both teams started confidently. Edgaras Utkus and Marko Regža converted in the opening round, while the second penalties were also successfully dispatched by both sides.
The first breakthrough came in the third round. Armandas Kučys calmly scored for Lithuania, but Deniss Meļņiks sent his effort wide of the target to hand the hosts an advantage. However, Lithuania immediately gave Latvia a lifeline when Lukas Michelbrink saw his penalty saved by Frenks Orols.
Andrejs Cigaņiks converted Latvia’s next kick to level the shootout once again. In sudden death, veteran Arvydas Novikovas found the net for Lithuania, while Aleksejs Saveļjevs responded to keep Latvia alive.
Orols came close to producing another save when Motiejus Burba stepped up, but the Lithuanian managed to squeeze his effort past the goalkeeper. That left Kristers Penkevics needing to score to extend the shootout, but his penalty was saved by Tomas Švedkauskas, sealing Lithuania’s victory.
The hosts advanced to Tuesday’s Baltic Cup final in Kaunas, while Latvia will now play in the third-place match.
Lithuania vs Latvia – 1-1 (1-0) Lithuania 5-4 on penalties
Goals: Kučys 28′ | Toņiševs 60′
