With the scores tied at 2:2 deep into injury time at the end of the game – a result that would have been fantastic against a talented Turkish side – Latvian hearts were broken when Irfan Kaveczi scored for the visitors in the 96th minute to take all the points back to Istanbul.
It was hard luck on the hosts who had battled throughout in a hard-fought and sometimes spicy confrontation at the Skonto Stadium that saw Latvia playing with just 10 men from the 82nd minute when Eduards Emsis was shown a red card.
The large crowd was royally entertained all evening with Eduards Emsis and Kristers Tobers scoring for Latvia, and Abdulkerim Bardakci, Cengiz Unders and Irfan Kaveczi finding the net for Turkey.
Despite the loss, Latvia will take heart from the fact they were able to come so close against a star-studded Turkish side which dominated possession.
The other teams in Latvia's qualifying group D are Croatia, Wales and Armenia. In the other match played Friday, Armenia shocked Wales with a 4:2 win in Cardiff. It will be Armenia that Latvia play next, away from home, on June 19.
For full details, see the official UEFA website.
