MM Footy News

Latvian club RFS beat Levadia Tallinn 1-0 (2-0 aggregate) at the LNK Sporta Parks in Riga, & advanced to the second round of the Champions League Qualifiers. Stefan Panić scored in back to back Champions League matches.  Stefan Panić celebrates his goal!! RFS nearly got off to a great start however Jānis Ikaunieks goal was ruled offsides. That was huge let off for Levadia keeper Karl Vallner as he had his glove on the ball but failed to keep it out. In the 18th minute Ikaunieks had another opportunity to score, as his brother Dāvis Ikaunieks gave him a beautiful pass into the box however Vallner saved Jānis Ikaunieks shot with his leg. In the 35th minute Levadia had a chance to equalise as Ghanaian midfielder Ernest Agyiri’s rocket of a free kick was saved by Marko Marić. An evenly matched first half as both sides failed to break the deadlock however with RFS being 1-0 in the tie, Levadia need a goal to keep their Champions League hopes alive. Roberts Savaļnieks clears the bar ...

Latvia travel to London on Monday to face England in the second fixture of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. Latvia beat Andorra in a 1-0 win where Riga FC keeper Krišjānis Zviedris got a clean sheet on his national team debut. Meanwhile England’s new manager Thomas Tuchel got a 2-0 win over Albania on his debut with the Three Lions.  Harry Kane celebrating with the team after scoring against Albania Image Source: England Football Team Facebook Page Tuchel has made a few changes in England's back line as Arsenal left-back Myles Lewis Skelly became the youngest player in history to score on his senior England debut which was against Albania. With a 94% pass accuracy rate and having won 71% of the duels he's faced in this season's Premier League, the 18-year old will be ready for Monday. A key player for the Three Lions is Jude Bellingham who controls the middle of the park, has scored seven goals and got six assists for Real Madrid in the La Liga this season. He's also play...

Welling United suffered a 3-1 defeat to Weston-super-Mare AFC in the National League South (6th tier) match at Park View Road. Weston-super-Mare extended their unbeaten run to eight matches and are one point below top of the table Hamel Hampstead. Meanwhile Welling drop to 19th place and are now one point above relegation. Both teams getting ready for kick-off at Park View Road Welling United got off to the perfect start as two minutes into the match, Anointed Chukwu took on two Weston defenders and shot the ball in the bottom right corner which made it 1-0. In the 21st minute the Seagulls nearly responded, as Weston forward Nicholas McCootie’s shot was saved by Welling keeper Rhys Lovett and hit the crossbar. The visitors drew level as 23-year-old midfielder James Dodd crossed the ball to Reuben Reid whose header went past Lovett. Two minutes later the Wings conceded a penalty as the ball hit Dave Winfield's hand however, he was outside the box which made the Welling players and f...

RFS beat Cypriot club APOEL in a vital 2-1 victory in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League playoffs at the LNK Sporta Parks. It is the forth ever victory for RFS in the Europa League. Adam Markhiyev & Jānis Ikaunieks celebrate the second goal! Image Source: RFS X page 13 minutes into the match, the visitors had a huge opportunity to take the lead as Cameroonian keeper Farbice Ondoa was off his line. APOEL took advantage of that and got the ball in the penalty box for Xavi Quintillà who's shot was saved by Albanian defender Herdi Prenga whom headed the ball away from danger. In the 31st minute the hosts took the lead as Jānis Ikaunieks passed to Cedric Kouadio who was one on one with APEOL keeper Vid Belec and chipped the ball over him to make it 1-0. Just a minute before half time, RFS were awarded a penalty after Lasha Dvali blocked Ismael Diomande's shot. Before the penalty shot, Belec was playing mind games with Ikaunieks and pointed him to where to shoot the penalty ...

Auda made history and quality to the UEFA Conference League 3rd Qualifying Round for the first time in their history after beating Northern Irish side Cliftonville FC 2-0 (4-1 aggregate) at the Skonto Stadium in Riga. Auda are undefeated in Europe this season and have won all four of their Conference League matches.  Abiodun Ogunniyi celebrates after scoring vs Cliftonville Image Source: FK Auda Facebook Page Four minutes into the match Auda nearly got off to the perfect start, as Matheus Clemente made a beautiful through ball to Nigerian forward Abdulrahman Taiwo whose shot went past Cliftonville keeper David Odumosu but hit the post. Auda were controlling the tempo of the game as in the 20th minute, Abiodun Ogunniyi’s shot from outside the box was deflected by Cliftonville midfielder Conor Pepper and just missed the left hand post. The first half finished 0-0 as Auda had 59% ball possession and were in control of the match. Cliftonville were solid at the back however they need a ...

There was a lot of hype for the Rīgas Derbijs (Riga Derby) between RFS and Riga FC and it did not disappoint as Riga FC came from 2-0 down to  2-2 in a sold out match. The new stand for the RFS stadium the LNK Sporta Parks was built just before this match and it made the atmosphere electric.  The RFS fans cheering on their club Image Source: LNK Sporta Parks Facebook Page The hosts got off to the perfect start as they took the lead ten minutes in the game. Slovenian defender Žiga Lipušček scored a brilliant header from Roberts Savaļnieks corner kick and scored his forth goal of the season. 13 minutes later RFS had a huge chance to double the lead as Emerson was pulled down in the box by Gonzalo Muscia. Lipušček's penalty shot however went straight at Rihards Matrevics which was a huge sigh of relief for the Riga FC fans. Riga FC had a chance of their own as in the 33rd minute as Gauthier Mankenda dribbled past two defenders. Mankenda then passed it to Kemelho Nguena who's shot...

Top of the table Riga FC face BFC Daugavpils in what should be an entertaining Virsliga fixture on Friday night. Riga FC have 12 points and are aiming to keep their unbeaten run at home while the Latgale side are aiming for an upset. BFC Daugavpils have taken the league by surprise and are undefeated in their first five league matches with 11 points.   Daugavpils & Riga FC players clash in last season's encounter Image Source: Riga FC Facebook Page The Rīdzinieki have been solid at the back this season as they have had four clean sheets in five matches. Ghanaian defender Baba Musah has been the major factor in Riga's solid backline as he has a fantastic average pass accuracy rate of 95%. 21-year old left midfielder Eduards Dašķevičs is a player to watch as  many Latvian football fans have high hopes on him for the future. He is a quick and technical player who is very good with the ball with a successful dribbling rate of 82% in the Virsliga. Up front Riga FC hav...

As the international break is starting this weekend, one game you won't want to miss is the Latvian U21 side playing away in Cesena against Italy's U21 side in the 2025 Euro U21 Qualifiers on Friday. Despite Italy having 73% ball possession and 7 shots on target in the previous match against Latvia at the Slokas Stadions, Latvia tied the match 0-0 which was a massive upset in the group. Deniss Meļņiks (4) winning the ball over Daniele Ghilardi (11). Image Source: Futbols Facebook Page This Italian side is stacked in talent as at the back they have Atalanta defender Matteo Ruggeri who has been solid at the ball not only for the U21's but also in the Serie A as he has an 83% pass accuracy rate and has 3 assists this season. In the middle, Italy have AS Roma midfielder Edoardo Bove who has been a vital player in the Serie A and Europa League at just 21-years old. In the Serie A, Bove has a 62% succesful dribbling rate and a 84% pass accuracy rate. Another player to watch is Le...

A massive 1-0 away win for Valmiera against RFS as they are off to a flying start this season with two wins from two games. A disappointing result for the 2023 Virsliga champions RFS as they had 62% ball possession as well as playing at home in front of a full stadium at the LNK Sporta Parks. Meissa Diop celebrates after scoring against RFS Image Source: Valmiera FC Facebook Page The hosts started well with 10 minutes into the match, Serbian forward Darko Lemajić had a shot just outside the penalty box, which was saved by Carlos Olses. Three minutes later RFS had another opportunity as Roberts Savaļnieks made a brilliant pass to Lemajić from the back to the other side of the pitch which went past multiple players. Lemajić then ran into the penalty box however Valmiera captain Daniels Balodis made a key tackle which prevented a goal scoring opportunity for RFS. In the 25th minute the visitors took the lead as Djibril Guèye started a counter attack by dribbling pa...

The last Virsliga season champions RFS host the 2022 Virsliga champions Valmiera at the LNK Sporta Parks on Friday. Both teams started the season off on a high note as Valmiera beat Metta 2-0 while the Rīdzenieki scraped past Auda 2-1. As both clubs are aiming to win the league again this season, a loss could be costly in the title race. Both teams fighting for the ball in last season's encounter Image Source: Valmiera FC Facebook Page As mentioned in the Virsliga preview that I wrote last week, RFS are very solid at the back with some of the best defenders in the league. As well as being solid at the back, Slovenian defender Žiga Lipušček has been a scoring machine too. He scored in the last two matches, one being a late winner against Auda last weekend and against Riga FC in the Latvijas Superkauss (Latvian Super Cup). In the middle, look out for  Finnish U21 international Adam Markhiyev who is a composed player who makes the players around him better. Last season the 2...

The Virsliga last season was very entertaining with a very dramatic finish to the season as Riga FC were in 1st place for most of the season only to bottle it in their last match in a 1-1 draw to Valmiera. There was also drama at the other end of the table as BFC Daugavpils avoided relegation by beating FK Liepāja 3-1 in the second to last game of the season. Liepāja missed out on a spot in the Conference League Qualifiers because of that. The 2024 Virsliga will be a fascinating season from top to bottom so you won't want to miss it.  All stats next to the players names are from last season's Virsliga. Pāvels Šteinbors lifts the Virsliga trophy for RFS Image Source: RFS Insta Page RFS Last year RFS won their second ever Virsliga title in history after a dramatic 1-0 win against Metta in the final match of the season. Despite an underwhelming performance in Europe being knocked out by Azeri side Sabah FK (4-1 aggregate), they were able to concentrate on the league and snat...

Latvia suffer another defeat in the Euro 2024 Qualifiers, this time against Wales in a 2-0 loss at Skonto Stadions in Riga. Latvia have lost all five matches in the qualifiers as the manager Dainis Kazakevičs job is in jeopardy. Welsh manager Rob Page's job was also on the line as Wales had only won once in their previous 13 matches and had been underperforming.  Image Source: Futbols Facebook Page The visitors started out strong as in the 2nd minute, Brennan Johnson had a promising effort which went just over the bar. In the 27th minute, Wales were awarded a penalty after Kaspars Dubra pushed Fulham midfielder Harry Wilson. Aaron Ramsey took the penalty and shot the ball into the bottom left corner as Auda keeper Roberts Ozols jumped in the opposite direction. The hosts had a chance to tie the game just before half time as Jānis Ikaunieks crossed the ball into the box, however both forwards Roberts Uldriķis and Raimonds Krollis failed to reach the ball. It was a dominant display f...

Although it's been a rough decade for Latvian football, 2022 was a great year for football in the country which had many upsets from RFS qualifying to the Europa Conference League group stages (the 1st Latvian team since Ventspils in 2009 to qualify for a UEFA group stage competition) and Valmiera FC winning their first ever Virsliga title. 2023 will be huge year in Latvian football and with more talented players then ever in the league, you won’t want to miss this season’s Virsliga!  All stats in parentheses next to the players names are from last season’s Virsliga. Raimonds Krollis lifts the Virsliga trophy for Valmiera Image source: Optibet Virsliga Valmiera FC Last year, the small town in Vidzeme with a population of just 22,000 people did the unthinkable. The big question is, will they be able to challenge for the title again this season. Quite a few key players left Valmiera such as the Virsliga's top scorer Raimonds Krollis (25 goals in 34 games) who moved to Serie A sid...