Pride and points at stake in Riga

By Mihail Korolev & Pavle Gognidze

After tonight's Group 3 qualifier between Latvia and Russia at the Skonto stadium in Riga, the FIFA World Cup dream will be over for one team, possibly even both.

Macau viewers
With tickets long sold out, there is an unprecedented level of interest in the match, with media attention coming from as far away as the Chinese island of Macau where the game will be screened live. Amid the hype, though, coaches Yuri Semin and Jurijs Andrejevs are striving to keep their players focused.

Massive interest
Latvia Football Federation general secretary Janis Mežeckis has been overwhelmed by the excitement. "There has never been such a rush for tickets to a football match since independence," he said. "We received 18,000 corporate applications alone and the Skonto stadium can only hold a maximum 10,000."

Previous meeting
The only previous meeting between the sides in Riga was a friendly in 2001. Aleksandrs Starkovs, now coach of FC Spartak Moskva, was taking charge of one of his first matches for Latvia en route to reaching the UEFA EURO 2004™ finals, while Oleg Romantsev was at the Russian helm.

Gala event
Despite freezing conditions and some outrageous ticket prices, the Skonto stadium was sold out, however the supporters decked out in the deep red of Latvia were to be disappointed as Russia's blue and whites ran out comfortable 3-1 winners.

Russian absentees
Semin would dream of a repeat result this evening. The one-time FC Lokomotiv Moskva coach is without banned captain Alexey Smertin and injury victims Dmitri Sychev, Dmitri Loskov, Vassili Berezoutski and Yuri Zhirkov, but he is adamant his new-look side have what it takes to get the vital victory.

Andrejevs motivated
Latvia, however, will be in no mood to roll over and let the Russians have their way. They enter the game one point behind third-placed Russia, and with memories of EURO 2004™ still fresh, Andrejevs will be anxious to keep alive hopes of a second successive qualification.

Verpakovskis determined
Pressure is mounting on the coach following his dismissal by out-of-sorts champions Skonto FC, but that has not weakened Latvia's resolve. "We are convinced we can be successful against Russia, especially in front of our own fans," said Latvia's golden boy, FC Dynamo Kyiv striker Maris Verpakovskis. "We should not be concerned about Russia's injury situation. I don't even know who is injured for them, because we need to concentrate on ourselves."

Retired comrade
There is a huge amount at stake for the Latvian players. That some might impress and earn a chance in the lucrative Russian Premier-Liga is a minor issue, as they are determined to give their veteran defender and captain Mihails Zemlinskis a fitting farewell as he retired on the eve of the match.

Tough decision
"Making such a decision was very hard," said the Skonto man. "I gave a lot of energy and time to the national team and I am happy I played more than a hundred times for Latvia. I thank everyone who played alongside me for all those years and hope the team will hit new highs like in Portugal."

Jury's out
Latvia will hope such words can inspire them. As for who will prevail tonight, the Yuri, or indeed the Jurijs, are out on that one.