Latvian volleyball team Photo: Evija Trifanova / LETA
The Latvian men’s volleyball team will play its second match in the final tournament of the European Championship in Tallinn today, competing with Croatia. Subgroup D match “Saku Suurhall” will start at 7 pm, broadcasting it live on Latvian Television channel 7. Before that, the Estonian and Slovak national teams will have played each other in the group.
The Latvian national team has returned to the final of the European Championship after a break of 26 years and already in the first game on Wednesday took care of a surprise – a victory 3-1 (25:23, 25:22, 16:25, 25:21) over the homeland of head coach Avo Kehl Estonia. Croatia played their first game on Friday, recognizing the superiority of the German team with 0-3 (20:25, 13:25, 19:25).
Taking into account the additional indicators, after one game in Group D, the teams are in the following order: one victory was won by Germany, France and Latvia, followed by the losing Estonia, Slovakia and Croatia. In the continuation of the group tournament, the Latvian national team must meet with Slovakia on Monday, with Germany on Tuesday and with the Olympic champion France on Wednesday.
The captain of the Latvian national team in this tournament is also Toms Švans. On Monday, 14 volleyball players went to the tournament, but the reserve list was left by the lifter Jānis Jansons and the striker Jānis Medenis. In the case of Covid-19, it is possible to register one player from the reserve list during the tournament.
The Croatian national team is playing for the fourth time in the final tournament, without the previous three leaving the group. The Latvian and Croatian national teams last met in 2016, when Latvians won the European Championship qualifiers 3-1 and 3-0. This summer, Croatia played in 19 national league tournaments and, starting in the Silver group, took the 15th place, while Latvia, which played in the Gold group, was in the 11th position. Latvia is also higher in the European ranking – 23rd place against the 27th position.
In September 2020, the Latvian men’s team overtook Spain, Moldova and Cyprus in its qualification group, winning the first place. Latvian volleyball players thus qualified for the final tournament of the European Championship, where they previously played in 1995, winning 11th place. The head coach of the Latvian national team Avo Kēl is assisted by assistants Guntis Atars, Boriss Kolčins and Austris Štāls. The final of the European Championship takes place in Estonia, Finland, Poland and the Czech Republic, with 24 teams divided into four subgroups. The four best teams in each subgroup will enter the elimination tournament.
As Estonia is included in the yellow list, fans without a Covid-19 certificate will have to observe self-isolation after returning to Latvia. During the tournament, the national teams will live in “bubble” conditions in hotels. In case the Latvian national team manages to reach the “play-off”, the flight to Ostrava with a charter flight will be provided by the organizers. Dainis Āzens, a journalist from LETA, also went to the Latvian national team games in Tallinn to follow the volleyball players and other important events of the championship directly from the scene.
Composition of the Latvian national team
builders – Deniss Petrovs (Nizhny Novgorod ASK, Russia), Edvin Skruder (Jekabpils “Lynx”);
diagonal attackers – Kristers Dardzāns (Jēkabpils “Lūši”), Hermans Egleskalns (Piraeus “Olympiacos”, Greece), Kristaps Platačs (“Parnu”, Estonia);
first pace players – Renārs Pauls Jansons (“RTU Border Guard” / “Jūrmala”), Toms Švans (“Parnu”, Estonia), Gustavs Freimanis (Jēkabpils “Lūši”);
attackers of the second pace – Romans Saušs (“Valepa”, Finland), Kristaps Šmits (Jēkabpils “Lūši”), Atvars Ozoliņš (“Parnu”, Estonia), Edvarts Buivids (“Lindaren Volley Amriswill”, Switzerland);
“Libero” – Ingars Ivanovs (“RTU Border Guard” / “Jūrmala”), Artems Petrovs (“Lotos”).
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