Yesterday evening in Riga, Latvia: Latvia - Albania 0-0 0-0 of Strakosha and our forwards From our correspondent in Riga CHRONICLE LEONIT: Krajaves/Stolcerovs Skoresovs, Jerofejevs, Jansons, Bule, Pahars, Vitolins, Astafjevs, Isakovs. Attack: Rubins, Mjopans, Solovjevs. Coach: Zaozulins. ALBANIA: Strakosha, Lala, Suli, Haxhi, Fakaj, Bushi, Kola, Vata, Raklli. Coach: Halili. Also involved were Jupa, Murati, Shkoza. The Latvians, with one more match played, are in a very favorable position and will strongly hold second place in the standings of the fourth qualifying group for Euro 2000, which is organized across many countries. So in the match with the Latvian side, for which we had an attacking preference, we would have been satisfied with a draw. Ninety minutes of play showed that we played such a match. Our team closed down the game carefully and at least in the first 17 minutes of play, until our side’s play became clearer and its style was found. After 17 minutes of play, the Latvian forwards came strongly close to our goal. These are the minutes of greatest fear of conceding a goal, but the clever organization of our defense avoids these surprises. When we thought that the first half was going to end goalless, we suffered a big chance through Isakovs, who in our area met a fine ball after a break from 15-16 meters. Strakosha saved brilliantly. Our defensive setup for the match and the first half went like this. The play is cautious and with good coverage. But in this half the opponent was able to do more. At the end of the first 45 minutes we are satisfied with the 0-0 result. In the second half we create much more volume of play. Our forwards spark attacks more often and as a result the opponent falls more under our pressure. In the 63rd minute we lose the best chance to score. This comes after an interesting move by Vata, who makes a long ball that crosses midfield and reaches our striker Raklli in the center. With the ball under control, he shoots from outside the area, but the goalkeeper saves. Meanwhile, in the 71st minute we attack even more heavily, which could not be dangerous. Afterwards, the Latvian side puts our cautious team under even more pressure. Their frequent and dangerous attacks create their own threat. But we find it difficult. Our goalkeeper in the 74th minute and then in the 77th minute Strakosha is superb. Meanwhile, only twice have we attacked successfully, which meant that in the 75th and then 77th minute the balls toward their goal passed very close to the fatal line. We are in the 90th minute and our ball on a quick counterattack goes to Raklli. He took the ball and ran with it while only the Latvian goalkeeper came out in front of him. Now, our man here acts in a difficult and very unclear way. He shoots unbelievably. Now everything ends 0-0. For our team, against an opponent weaker than us, if luck and momentum had also smiled on us, our result in the European Championship would have been better. During this match we have officials who are also more satisfied. In the balance of the match, the victory belonged to us, and the draw was fair. In Novgorod, after a few weeks, the same story repeats itself. The absence of our players, otherwise more at “Qemal Stafa”, would not bring any change to the lineup of our performance. Everything is heading toward the end. The captain of Strakosha and the angry Tiranan against Nivzegen was completely clear. “Qemal Stafa” will be a stadium with many Albanians.

The traditional tribune of the game The guides of the game. Hazizi declares: “A draw” was the acceptable result, but by referring to the better names in our team we came out of the match as winners.” “It is a pleasing result for us not only as a victory, after which we intend to keep moving forward and hope for another surprise. In the next match in Novgorod we are ready, but we also like what happened here. Now, with the second team we establish not only the liking of the match, but also of the goal, regardless of the performance of the second team. Of course we felt the absence of Haxhi and Kola, but still it can be considered that the objective was achieved.” Among other things, Hafizi says that the Riga challenge was his first match as coach of the Albanian national team and this debut was worthy of praise. He stressed that despite the difficulties, the team showed discipline and determination. The lack of experience in such matches was noticeable, but according to him the players gave their maximum. “Qemal Stafa” will be a different stadium where the Albanian team will have greater support.

Since everyone had preconceived ideas with inferiority. We lost these softnesses, but the team did not lose its balance. In the 17th minute of the Latvia-Albania match, Nuhintece-Bushi could have scored, but the opponent, this, although also the opponent, more especially. This pre-verseon match in the 75-2 in the 76-15th minute Strakosha saved brilliantly. I valued the play of the team especially ours, not for the fact that we won, but for winning the match in depth can be called our counteraction and creativity. Against the opponent, the team played noticeably. Vata, Kola and others showed how much experience they have gained. I especially liked the calmness with which the team handled the pressure. In the second half we had more chances and a victory would not have been undeserved. However, the draw should be considered a positive step for our progress in the group.

Perhaps this was not what he declared as a link. More precisely, he pointed out the merits of our team and that he considered this a fair result. “It was a difficult match, but we came out with honor. Our forwards had several opportunities and in the end we could have taken more. This point is valuable for the team’s morale and for continuity in these qualifiers.” He praised the performance of the midfield and the defensive work of the team. “If we had been clearer in the final pass, we could have won. In any case, this draw gives us confidence for the matches ahead.”

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