Foto: BB.LV / футболисты
The football club "Riga" continues its performance in the group stage of the UEFA Conference League without wins or losses. On Thursday, November 5, the Latvian team drew 1:1 (1:0) at home against the Czech "Jablonec," reports the LETA agency. After three rounds, Riga has three points. The team is in 19th place among the 36 participants in the tournament and still has a chance to advance to the playoffs. ### "Riga" took the lead with a penalty The first dangerous moment was created by the guests. In the 12th minute, after a corner kick from the left flank, Dominik Golla headed the ball from close range, but the ball went straight into the hands of Riga's goalkeeper Kenan Pirić. In the 33rd minute, the situation changed in favor of the hosts. Jablonec's goalkeeper Klemens Michalak committed a foul in his penalty area, stopping Riga's forward Reginaldo Ramirez. The referee awarded a penalty, which was converted by the fouled player himself in the 35th minute. Ramirez struck hard into the right corner of the goal, while Michalak dove in the opposite direction. The teams went into halftime with a score of 1:0 in favor of "Riga." ### The goal was canceled after VAR intervention The second half began with a quick response from the guests. Already in the 49th minute, after a pass from Dominik Golla, Jablonec's midfielder Sebastian Nebyla shot from the right side of the penalty area and sent the ball into the far corner of the goal — 1:1. Just three minutes later, "Riga" could have taken the lead again. Salah Ulad made a beautiful curled shot from the right edge of the penalty area, sending the ball into the left upper corner of the opponent's goal. However, the hosts' joy was premature. After reviewing the video, the referee determined that at the start of the attack, Maxim Tonishev had committed a foul against Golla in the center of the field. As a result, the goal was canceled, and Tonishev received a yellow card. The score did not change until the end of the match. ### Three matches — three draws The draw with "Jablonec" became "Riga's" third consecutive in the group stage of the Conference League. All three matches ended with the same score — 1:1. | Opponent | Result | | -------------------------- | ------- | | "Kairat" (Kazakhstan), home | 1:1 | | "Paphos" (Cyprus), away | 1:1 | | "Jablonec" (Czech Republic), home | 1:1 | After three rounds, "Riga" with three points is in 19th place. "Jablonec" has two points and is in 23rd place. Earlier, the Czech team lost to the German "Freiburg" with a score of 2:3 and drew with the English "Brighton" — 0:0. ### Who will "Riga" play next? Before the end of the group stage of the Conference League, the Riga team has three more matches to play. On November 26, "Riga" will travel to Lithuania to face Kaunas' "Zalgiris." On December 10, the Latvian team will host the Italian "Atalanta" from Bergamo. The final match of the group stage will take place on December 17 in Bosnia and Herzegovina against "Borac" from Banja Luka. ### How to qualify for the Conference League playoffs? The group stage of the tournament features 36 teams, each playing six matches. After six rounds, the top eight clubs will advance directly to the Round of 16. Teams finishing in 9th to 24th places will continue in an additional playoff round. For participants finishing in 25th to 36th places, the European cup season will end. Thus, after three rounds, "Riga" is in a position that allows them to contend for continuing their participation in the tournament. ### How did "Riga" reach the group stage? The Latvian team began its European cup season in the Champions League qualifiers, where they lost to Yerevan's "Ararat-Armenia" with an aggregate score of 3:4. After that, "Riga" continued its performance in the Conference League qualifiers. On the way to the group stage, the Riga team defeated North Macedonia's "Vardar" (8:4 on aggregate), Hungary's "Diósgyőr" (2:1), and the Faroe Islands' KI from Klaksvik (2:1). "Riga" became the third Latvian club to reach the group stage of a UEFA club tournament. Previously, this was achieved by "Ventspils" in the Europa League in the 2009/2010 season and RFS, which participated in the Conference League in the 2022/2023 season, and two years later in the Europa League. The final of the current edition of the Conference League will take place on June 2 in Istanbul. Vēl viens punkts pievienots.✊⚽️ ✅Riga FC - FK Jablonec 1:1 (1:0) ⚽️Ramires https://t.co/OaDuCHiiCl— Riga FC (@RigaFC_Official) November 5, 2026
