Latvia defeated Austria 1:0 in the final match of the Euro 2020 qualifying tournament, though their previous record ensured their own chance of qualification had long since disappeared over the horizon.
Tā ir uzvara! Latvijas izlase iepriecina līdzjutējus ar 1:0 panākumu pār Austriju, noslēdzot #EURO2020 kvalifikācijas ciklu uz pozitīvas nots un sarūpējot skaistu dāvanu valstsvienības 400. spēlē. #11vilki pic.twitter.com/5KPztOXWFH
— Futbola federācija (@kajbumba) November 19, 2019
In the 400th match in its history, the Latvian team was given a win courtesy of Mārcis Ošs' 65th-minute goal.
There was hope for the future too, with debutant Aleksejs Grjaznovs having a fine game.
Despite the loss, Austria still qualified for the Euro 2020 tournament behind Poland in Group G of the qualifying pool. Nevertheless the win helped erase memories of the 6-0 thrashing Latvia sustained in Vienna earlier in the campaign.
Latvia's last win was a 1-0 victory against Estonia in February 2018, 18 games ago. They had lost their last nine games in a row.
Latvia's head coach Slavisa Stojanovic, said that the victory was an important one at the end of a generally disappointing qualifying campaign.
"We managed to demonstrate the dedication, discipline and attitude that was rewarded with victory. We want to progress in each match and this time we were able to prove it. We are very happy about the victory because we desperately need it, both in terms of confidence and looking at the work ahead of us," Stojanovic told the press.
You can listen to his post-match press conference below.
