Kazakhstan ended a run of two successive defeats to Latvia with a point in the Astana Arena in their opening Euro 2016 Group A qualifier.

The two fellow former Soviet republics met for the first time competitively, with the home side having managed just one draw in three previous friendlies.

However, in their first encounter in Kazakhstan the hosts side had the best chance of the game 10 minutes before half-time but Dmitri Shomko, playing at his home ground, missed the target.

Aside from that there was little to separate the sides, who are the outsiders in a group which contains Czech Republic, Holland, Turkey and Iceland.