Following Latvia’s narrow 0-1 defeat to Serbia in the FIFA World Cup qualifying match inside the Daugava Stadium, midfielder Lūkass Vapne shared his thoughts with Baltic Football News on the match.
“It was a tough match, of course – they’re a top-level team – but this was the one where we needed to grab at least a point,” Vapne reflected after the final whistle. “They actually let us play. We had possession, it wasn’t just sitting back and defending. If only that stoppage time chance had gone in, it would have felt completely different.”
When asked if the Serbian approach to let Latvia play more with the ball came as a surprise, Lūkass said it did not. They had studied their opponents in detail, and the game plan to build through short passing opened up spaces just as head coach Paolo Nicolato had predicted. “From the outside, maybe it looked easy,” Vapne said, “but it was something we had prepared for.”
The return of football to Daugava Stadium raised the question about the quality of the pitch. “The pitch was in great condition, even better than what we train on in Piņķi. The only issue was that it was a bit dry,” he noted.
There was a moment early in the second half when Vapne looked poised to make his mark. Known for his powerful long-range goals in Norway, he stood over a free-kick with his teammate Cigaņiks in prime territory. Yet it was Andrejs Cigaņiks who took the shot. “It came down to his left foot,” Vapne explained. “I asked if he was ready, and he immediately said yes – so he took it.”
Nicolato’s tactical focus has been clear throughout the qualifiers: bravery in attack. “We had a habit of playing backwards in the final third,” Vapne admitted. “The coach spent two full theory sessions drilling into us that in attack you must play forward, and it’s fine to make mistakes in the final third. The only place you can’t make them is in our own half.”
As for systems, Vapne feels most at home in a 5-4-1, which allows him to conserve energy for forward runs rather than constantly covering the flanks. Still, against powerhouses like England or Serbia, he sees the value in their 3-5-2 approach. “With three central midfielders, you cover less ground against really strong opponents. It’s tough to run yourself into the ground otherwise.”
Next up for Latvia is a trip to Albania. “We’ve got one more training session in the morning, and then we fly out in the evening,” Vapne confirmed.
Latvia’s next game in the qualifiers will be on Tuesday when they will play an away game against Albania in Tirana.
