Historic opportunity for the Russian national team 

The Russian youth football team has long taught fans that it fails in any selection of players.

It is enough that over the past 22 years she has made her way to the final stage of the European Championship only once.

In 2013, the team led by Nikolai Pisarev took first place in the qualifying group and won a ticket to the continental championship in Israel.

But there the Russians got into the "group of death" and lost all three matches (Spain, the Netherlands and Germany).

The leaders of that team were Oleg Shatov, Denis Cheryshev, Fyodor Smolov and Alan Dzagoev, who was called on to strengthen, who by that time was indispensable in the first team.

However, the qualifying round for Euro 2021 finally gave cause for optimism.

"Youth" under the leadership of Mikhail Galaktionov, which brought together a number of talented football players, came close to taking part in the continental championship for the first time since 2013. 

Russia confidently took the lead in a fairly strong group with Serbia, Poland and Bulgaria and was confidently going to finish in first place.

However, the September defeat by the Poles allowed the opponent to take the lead. 

Fortunately, last week Poland with a minimum score lost on the road to Serbia, and Galaktionov's wards defeated Estonia at home (4: 0).

Thus, on Tuesday, in order to guarantee themselves the first line and a ticket to the Euro, it was enough for them to beat the last standings of Latvia on the road.

True, before the final meeting, the "youth team" suffered one serious loss.

The main goalkeeper of the team Matvey Safonov was called to the first team, who conceded only one goal in seven matches of the qualifying stage.

However, his place at the base was expectedly taken by Alexander Maksimenko from Spartak. 

The rest of the starting line-up for the game completely repeated the line-up for the meeting with Estonia.

Including, from the first minutes, the forward of CSKA Fyodor Chalov appeared on the field, having scored a double in the previous match.

And the nominal midfielders Nayair Tiknizyan and Artyom Golubev again settled on the edges of the defense, which made the team's alignment as attacking as possible.

An important goal of Kuchaev 

Despite the status of a clear favorite, the Russian national team experienced certain difficulties in the first half of the meeting.

Galaktionov's wards immediately, as expected, took possession of the ball, but moving forward was extremely difficult for them.

The Latvians, with the support of the domestic tribunes, acted selflessly and carefully.

They played as closely as possible with the players of the opponent's attack group and did not hesitate to break the rules if necessary.

In the first half, the hosts committed 12 fouls at once, with only four for the Russians.

For the time being, the guests did not penetrate into someone else's penalty area at all, although Chalov actively fought for the ball and often kept it for the team.

It is not surprising that in this game segment the Russian national team was marked with only two harmless long-range shots. 

However, the domestic fans did not have time to start worrying, as Galaktionov's team opened an account.

The guests played a cool combination on the left flank with the participation of Chalov, Daniil Lesovoy and Tiknizyan, and the latter made an excellent serve into the penalty area to Konstantin Kuchaev who came running, who neatly sent the ball into the net with his head.

In the future, the favorite continued to possess the ball just as calmly, not trying to finish off the opponent by all means.

Before the break, I remembered only a dangerous and slightly inaccurate blow by Vyacheslav Grulev from the bottom of the penalty line into the far corner.

And Kuchaev's effective shot remained the only shot on target for Russia in the first 45 minutes.

True, the Latvians did not inflict a single one.

Victory for a clear advantage 

However, at the beginning of the second half, the Russian national team finally removed all questions about the winner of the match, scoring two goals in four minutes.

At first, the guests managed to play a penalty kick effectively.

After Lesovoy served from the standard, Chalov made a discount almost to the goal line, from where the tall Roman Evgeniev sent the ball into the net. 

And soon Lesovoy himself, during a quick attack after Kuchaev's transfer, easily left the defender and neatly shot into the far corner without a chance for the rival goalkeeper Nils Purinsh.

Galaktionov, in the second half of the half, made three substitutions at once, giving Chalov, Kuchaev and Lesovoy a rest before important RPL games.

Instead, Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov, Daniil Utkin and Alexander Lomovitsky appeared on the field. 

And nine minutes before the end of regular time, the coaching staff made another iconic castling - Denis Makarov made his debut in the national team.

As a result, Rubin's midfielder even managed to score an assist to Lomovitsky.

However, the meeting was not without a fly in the ointment for the Russians, who in the end allowed the opponent to seize the initiative.

And in the 93rd minute the Latvians managed to score the prestige ball.

Kristers Lusins ​​scored with an accurate header, but Maksimenko failed to win back. 

However, the main result of the match for the Russian national team was the conquest of the first ticket to the European Youth Championship since 2013.

At the same time, the final tournament itself for the first time in history will bring together 16 participants at once, including the hosts - Hungary and Slovenia. 

The championship will be played in two stages. At the end of March 2021, a group round will be held with the participation of 16 teams. They will all be divided into four quartets. And already at the beginning of June, the eight strongest teams will gather again to compete for medals. The group stage draw will take place in November after the end of the qualifying round.