/nginx/o/2020/09/07/13329616t1h1948.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1)
Head coach Kegel also knew prematurely that Egleskalns could have less playing time in the decisive duel with Cyprus.
–
“I reckoned that Herman could not play, because we talked about it after the match with Spain,” the opportunity to play the decisive match without the leader of the Latvian national team is confirmed by the head coach Kehl, who took his team to the European Championship final for the third time, the first two did it together with Boris Kolchin and the Estonian state unit. “During the break I took, the result was 15:15, Egleskalns told me that I couldn’t play any further. There was no time to think. I knew it would be Kristaps. He looked good this summer, and I had no doubt that he would be able to play well enough.”
–
In addition, at the end of the third set, due to an ankle injury, the most experienced player of the team – the lifter Deniss Petrovs – dropped out.
–
“We won the point after Atvar Ozolins’ attack, Denis turned his ankle and fell towards Cyprus side. So the referee gave the point to the opponents, allowing them to take the lead with 23:22. We lost the point and also Petrov,” the coach describes the unpleasant situation.
–
“Edvīns Skrūders left the field, immediately played a safe” papa “combination with Ozoliņš, then performed two good services. In a sporty sense, he is ashamed as he should be,” Skrūder’s involvement in the game is praised by Kehl.
–
“The stakes in the game were high. If we do today [svētdien] would have lost, this result would obviously contribute to our non-attendance to the finals. Then we would be deprived of both victories with Moldova in second place in the competition with other groups, but there would be only one victory with Cyprus instead, a maximum of four points if they had lost five sets. It would not have helped. So it was a very difficult game for us psychologically – the opponent seems to be weaker, but during this tournament I had changed my opinion about Cyprus three times and they know how to play. “
–
Commenting on the results of the entire selection cycle, Kehl highlights the activities of coaches and team staff – fitness coach Tarmo Tīts, physiotherapist Tomas Zvonkovs, statistician Karl Erik Eisenhmidt and assistants – Guntis Atars and Boris Kolchins. He also says that 16 people with one Zvonkov is not enough, and next time he needs at least one assistant to do massage directly.
–
The coach emphasizes that the early start of preparations, which could not be afforded by competitors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, may have helped to enter the final tournament.
–
This entry into the ranks of Europe’s strongest teams is already the third after the previous two with the Estonian national team. “It’s more than 90% emotional entry into the final tournament,” says the coach about this year’s achievement. “Neither salary nor anything was important to me in the negotiations on the leadership of the Latvian national team. I had a strong desire to enter the final tournament of the European Championship together with Latvia. That was my only motivation.”
–
Avo Kēls
PHOTO: CEV
–
Even before leaving for Cyprus, the Latvian national team in Estonia held three test matches with the local national team, failing in all dues. Duels with the Polish team “Radrad Enea Czarni” in Radom were also planned, but they had to be canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
–
The qualifying tournament for the European Championship in Group D was the only one in which both rings are played at the same time in one country, and the only one to be played in late August and early September, the finalists in the other groups being determined in January next year.
–
The final tournament is scheduled for August and September 2021 in Poland, the Czech Republic, Finland and Estonia. Four home teams and the top eight teams from previous European Championships in Serbia, Slovenia, France, Russia, Italy, Ukraine, Germany and Belgium have already secured a place in the top 24 teams in Europe in the final tournament. The remaining 12 places in the final tournament will be taken by the winners of seven groups and the five best second place winners.
— .
