Wales face Latvia on Monday in a fixture that the visitors simply have to win. It is impossible for the hosts to qualify but they will hope to give Wales a tough game like they did in March, where they ultimately suffered a 1-0 defeat.
Latvia
Latvia are rock bottom of qualification Group D, having played four games and losing them all. They have conceded 11 goals and scored 3 themselves, which isn’t a terrible return for a side that are consistently the underdogs in each fixture. However, Latvia have only played one game at home in qualifying, where they pushed top of the table Turkey to the very last minute, despite having ten men for the last 15. The Latvian players should take encouragement from that 3-2 defeat as they showed that they can be an attacking threat.
Unfortunately, in their most recent game versus Croatia they suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat where they struggled to get any real foothold in the match. At this point, other than for pride and the goal of development, Latvia don’t have anything to play for which could be a positive or a negative.
Wales
Wales are currently second from bottom in Group D after letting their fantastic start get away from them in the last two matches. Starting the campaign with a 1-1 draw versus Croatia set them up brilliantly to defeat Latvia, which they did. Yet losing 4-2 at home to Armenia and 2-0 away to Turkey halted their progress. Robert Page has a big job on his hands if Wales are to qualify.
The Dragons come into this game knowing what the task at hand is and I believe that they will give their all to obtain those vital three points. Wales drew 0-0 in a friendly versus South Korea on Thursday which will give the backline a big confidence boost however, Harry Wilson, David Brooks and Brennan Johnson should have the biggest say on the outcome of the match.
Verdict?
Despite Latvia showing promise at home and Wales only narrowly beating them in March, the motivation and purpose behind the Welsh performance should just get them over the line. The clean sheet against South Korea could just be the catalyst for a Wales qualification comeback.
The final prediction is Latvia 0-2 Wales.
