VIDEO ⟩ Dubra: Coach encouraged not to be afraid to make mistakes

It has already been reported that in Nikolato’s debut, the Latvian national team played a draw against the host Cypriot national team on Thursday in Larnaca with a score of 1:1 (0:1).

In the 45th minute, Andrejs Cigaņiks earned the right to execute a penalty kick for the Latvian national team, but Vladislavs Gutkovskis did not realize it.

On the other hand, in the 85th minute, Ciganiks, for whom this was his 50th game in the Latvian national team, scored a draw.

“It’s good that we drew. Of course, we also wanted to win in the end – we had moments,” Dubra told the press service of the Latvian Football Federation (LFF).

The Latvian national team had 51% ball control in this match (57% in the second half). The team had several scoring opportunities that were not taken.

“There were mistakes, but I’m glad we played more with the ball. We have something to work on. Overall, a positive game,” Dubra said.

In total, in the match, the Latvian national team made seven shots, four of which were in the goal frame. Cyprus responded with nine shots, two of which were on target.

“The coach asked us to play from the goal and try to play with the ball – we are not afraid to make mistakes. In this sense, everything was good,” said Dubra.

“I think that in general we can be satisfied. The game was good, the only thing missing was the victory,” assessed the defender of the Latvian national team.

“We controlled the ball, but we should play faster – handle it with one or two touches. We have to take the ball to the sides and then center it in the penalty area,” Dubra outlined the possibilities for improvement.

“This was the first game with the new coaching staff. It takes time. You can see a positive attitude in training.”

On March 26, the Latvian national team will play another test match in the Cypriot city of Larnaca, against the national team of Liechtenstein.

Cyprus ranks 125th in the FIFA ranking, Latvia ranks 136th, and Liechtenstein ranks 203rd in the competition of 210 nations.