Under-21: Brave San Marino, Latvia strike at the end of each half

There are three recent debutants (whose very first appearances came in November’s friendly against Albania) in the starting XI selected by Matteo Cecchetti for the clash with Latvia, the opening match in the two-year qualifying campaign for Euro 2025. Mattia and Nicolò Sancisi, together with Guidi, immediately earn the trust of the Head Coach, within a 5-3-2 system that has Santi and Lazzari as the strike partnership. San Marino show their courage right from kick-off, exactly as instructed by the coach. On 7 minutes the Titani get forward thanks to a sweeping long ball from Capicchioni to Santi who, though a little isolated, does well to win the first corner of the match. Latvia respond in kind: corner by Vapne, knock-down by Vientiess for the header from Puzirevskis, which is weak and straight at the goalkeeper. On 11 minutes the crowd are on their feet for the delicate – and highly difficult – first touch from Šits and his ensuing left-footed curler from long range, the ball flashing just past the post to Amici’s left. But the young San Marino side are not overawed. On the contrary, a determined ball recovery by Mattia Sancisi launches a rapid Titano counter-attack, with Capicchioni, using the outside of his boot, sending Santi through on goal, only for him to be stopped at the last moment by a very, very risky challenge from Raščevskis. San Marino grow into the game and are soon back on the front foot following a move from a throw-in high up the pitch: Contadini looks for Zannoni in the middle of the box; he shakes off his marker well but his turn and shot is straight at the keeper. San Marino keep pressing on 18 minutes: another cross from Contadini unsettles the Latvian backline, who concede a corner. Santi delivers and finds Matteoni, who rises highest of all but can’t direct his header on target. As the half wears on the hosts come back strongly and find the opener on 37 minutes. Amici does brilliantly to fly across and save Vapne’s effort from the edge of the area; however the ball stays in the danger zone and is played into the goalmouth for Šits, who is first denied by Matteoni’s outstretched foot but does not waste his second chance: Amici gets a touch but the distance is simply too short for him to keep out the shot from the Parma player, who made two Serie B appearances in the season just ended. The goal lifts the Baltic side, who immediately push for a second with a quick counter-attack, shaped by Vapne and finished by Puzirevskis: his right-foot curler, deflected, goes not too far wide. Yet the final word of the half again belongs to San Marino. Zannoni does well to beat his man with a dribble and thread a vertical pass to Lazzari who, with the entire defence set in front of him, opts for a surprise shot in the hope of catching Vilkovs off guard: the idea is excellent, the effort only fractionally wide. At the restart for the second half the first change sees Filippo Pasolini replace Guidi. Latvia come flying out of the blocks and immediately threaten through Vapne, but his right-footed effort is straight at the keeper. Shortly afterwards, Raščevskis carries the ball all the way to the edge of the area before unleashing a dangerous right-foot strike, which goes behind via a deflection. Another scare for the San Marino defence comes from Novikovs’ diagonal drive – powerful but off target. After the introductions of Marco Pasolini and D’Addario, San Marino mount a counter which earns a tantalising free-kick from the corner of the area. Capicchioni steps up and forces Vilkovs into a scrambling save. Two light-blue shirts pounce on the rebound, but the home keeper is quick to recover both his position and the ball. At the other end there is work too for Amici, whose reflexes are vital to keep out Šits’ fierce and accurate left-footer at the end of a Latvian counter-attack. In the meantime there are full debuts for Sensoli and Famiglietti, while San Marino’s energy levels start to drop as the minutes tick by. Latvia launch another surge through Melnis, whose powerful strike forces Amici into a difficult parry; Rēķis is first to the rebound but fires over. The crowd come alive again for yet another effort from Šits, one of the local favourites (with more than a few Parma shirts in the stands), who goes very close to a brace with his diagonal effort. Buoyed perhaps also by the crowd’s encouragement, Latvia find fresh reserves of energy to step up the tempo in the very final phase of the match. Their pressure is rewarded with a goal from Melnis, sharp and predatory as he turns Rēķis’ low cross into gold. Soon after, Novikovs goes it alone, racing all the way down the left flank and then showing a touch of selfishness once inside the box: he goes for goal from a tight angle, hitting the outside of the post, instead of crossing to team-mates who had supported his run. Before the 90th minute, Marco Pasolini, already booked, pulls back Šits who was breaking away into open space: second yellow card and San Marino down to ten men. Latvia try to add to the scoreline right up to the end of the four minutes of added time, but cannot find a way through the Titans’ resistance. It finishes 2-0, a scoreline that does not fully reflect the performance of Cecchetti’s boys, especially considering their first half, full of enterprise and good chances. Now a break; then, for the National Team of the Titano, European qualifying resumes in September with fixtures against Norway and Ireland.  

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Under-21, Euro 2025 qualifying | Latvia-San Marino 2-0 LATVIA Vilkovs; Novikovs (from 90+2' Fjodorovs), Vientiess, Sliede, Masiovs; Kaušelis (from 67' Rēķis), Anmanis (from 88' Žaleiko), Vapne, Raščevskis (from 90+2' Vasiļevskis); Šits, Puzirevskis (from 67' Melnis) Substitutes: Bethers, Reingolcs, Vilnis, Ostapenko Coach: Aleksandrs Basovs   SAN MARINO Amici; Guidi (from 46' F. Pasolini), Matteoni (from 60' M. Pasolini), Tomassini, M. Sancisi (from 82' Famiglietti), Contadini; Zannoni (from 60' D'Addario), Capicchioni, N. Sancisi; Santi, Lazzari (from 76' Sensoli) Substitutes: Terenzi, Toccaceli, Dolcini, Giambalvo Coach: Matteo Cecchetti Referee: Helgi Mikael Jónasson (ISL) Assistant referees: Egill Gudvardur Gudlaugsson and Kristjan Mar Olafs (ISL) Fourth official: Ivar Orri Kristjansson (ISL) Booked: Matteoni, Zannoni, Novikovs, M. Pasolini, N. Sancisi Sent off: M. Pasolini Scorers: 38' Šits, 86' Melnis

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