Latvia beat the Czech Republic 4-3 after extra time yesterday at Arena Rīga, claiming their first victory in their 13th game against the rivals in the World Cup.
This historic success was celebrated by the hosts’ fans in keeping with their tradition. They usually bring flowers to the embassies of the countries whose national teams Latvia will defeat at the World Hockey Championships. Two years ago, a similar action after Latvia’s victory over Canada at the inauguration of the elite World Championships also held in Riga was widely heard.
This time it fell on the Czechs. A moment after the end of the match, fans of the Latvian national team wrote on social networks the address of the Czech embassy in Riga with the hashtag “#hokejs” (hockey in Latvian).
Despite the late evening, a group of fans appeared in front of the Czech diplomatic mission building with flowers. On one of the cards they wrote “Thank you for making this day MEMORABLE”.
Czech Ambassador to Riga Jana Hinkova, who was present at the match, despite the late hour, came directly from the hall to the Embassy building to greet the fans and take pictures with them.
After 3 World Cup matches, the Czech national team is ranked 2nd in Group B with 7 points. For Latvia, the 2 points scored against the Czech Republic are the only ones so far. The co-organizers of the tournament are in 6th position in their group.
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