The U-20 national team will challenge the favorites in the European Championship qualification / Article

During the Easter holidays, the Latvian U-20 national team played two test matches against their peers from Ukraine in Jēkabpils and lost both matches (0:3 and 2:3). However, it is important to remember that Ukraine is a country with a strong volleyball system – their national teams regularly play in European and world championships, and their junior teams are also strong. In addition, Ukrainians are not only participants in major tournaments, but also fight for high results and good positions.

Latvian U-20 team coach Mārcis Obrumans told Latvijas Radio that in the first test match there were too many sloppiness and tactical mistakes in defense, but for the second match the necessary adjustments were made, which allowed to improve the performance. The national team is still training to hone all the nuances, and video materials about the upcoming opponents are being prepared.

In the qualification, Latvia will have to play in the same group with Germany, Slovakia and Croatia. All the opposing teams are respectable, but nominally the strongest is Germany.

However, the coaches of the Latvian national team are confident enough about the team’s strength and the possibility to fight with rivals as equals against equals. The goal for the Latvian national team is to reach at least 2nd place in the group, and this corresponds to the qualification formula – the winners of the group, as well as three of the five best 2nd place winners, will enter the final tournament of the European Championship.

The U-20 national team will compete in the first of this year’s big tournaments – in the second half of the summer, the qualification for the European Championship will begin for the men’s and women’s national teams, while the Olympic qualification tournament in beach volleyball is scheduled for June in Jurmala.

The current U-20 team includes several names already known in Latvian volleyball, for example Armands Rokjāns – one of the leaders in last year’s Latvian champion team “Ezerzeme/Daugavpils University”.

The team also includes two of Latvia’s best young beach volleyball players, Kristiāns Fokerots and Gustavs Auziņš – both of them have become both European and world champions at the junior age.

In a conversation with Latvijas Radio, Fokerot noted that when returning from the beach to classic volleyball, a significant adaptation phase is necessary, as there are many differences in the nuances of both defense and attack. If in beach volleyball it is customary to run after the ball, then in classical volleyball the player must know how to be in the right place at the right time, Fokerot explained.

It is still difficult to assess how talented this year’s team is, but several team players already have a considerable career resume and quite a few of them have gained experience in the Baltic Volleyball League.

which is not a playable level for the development of young players. The coaches see that several players of the U-20 national team could soon be knocking on the door of the national team.

For the U-20 national team, the second-round qualifying competition will take place in Daugavpils from April 5 to 7, while the final tournament is scheduled for Greece and Serbia from August 26 to September 7.