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After a balanced first half that offered no clear chances and ended 0-0, Latvia went on to secure their first win in the group with a 0–1 victory. Although both teams finished their qualifying group at the bottom of the table, there were clear signs of progress in their play, and several interesting player profiles made their mark on the match.

Malta, coached in a 1-4-3-3 formation by the Italian manager Davide Mazzotta (with a past as match analyst in Chelsea under Conte), used a deep-lying playmaker as main source of play in the build up (see image below) and two inverted wingers beside the mobile striker Tuma (currently playing for Reading in England).

Out of possession, they defended in a 1-4-5-1 formation and struggled at times in picking up their opponents when positioned in the space behind the striker (see image below).

Latvia, coached in a 1-4-3-3 formation by the Czech manager Jakub Dovalil (who previously coached Czech Repubblic youth national teams), showed good mobility in midfield by interchanging positions to create space and receive the ball (see image below). Their midfielder Zaleiko also dropped often beside the centre-backs to get on the ball and play long passes to the full-backs running down the line.

Their striker Lizunovs acted as a ‘target’ and the two fast wingers Strods and Anisjko challenged the opposition defensive line by attacking the back space mainly without the ball.

Out of possession, they reversed the midfield ‘triangle’ to match the positioning of the opposition midfielders (as you can see in the image below).

The decisive goal was scored by Cesnieks (60′), who picked up the ball dropped by the Maltese goalkeeper in the six-yard box after a corner.

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