Latvia National Football Team
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Latvia National Football Team

Latvia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)11 vilki[1]
(11 Wolves)
AssociationLatvijas Futbola feder?cija
ConfederationUEFA
Head coachDainis Kazakevi?s
CaptainAntonijs ?ernomordijs
Most capsVit?lijs Astafjevs (167)
Top scorerM?ris Verpakovskis (29)
Home stadiumDaugava Stadium
FIFA codeLVA
FIFA ranking
Current 136 Steady(18 February 2021)[2]
Highest45 (November 2009)
Lowest148 (September 2017)
First international
Latvia Latvia 1-1 Estonia 
(Riga, Latvia; 24 September 1922)
Biggest win
Latvia Latvia 6-1 Lithuania 
(Riga, Latvia; 30 May 1935)
Latvia Latvia 5-0 Lithuania 
(Võru, Estonia; 1 June 2012)
 Gibraltar 0-5 Latvia Latvia
(Gibraltar, Gibraltar; 29 March 2016)
 Andorra 0-5 Latvia Latvia
(Andorra la Vella, Andorra; 17 November 2020)
Biggest defeat
 Sweden 12-0 Latvia Latvia
(Stockholm, Sweden; 29 May 1927)
European Championship
Appearances1 (first in 2004)
Best resultGroup stage (2004)

The Latvia national football team (Latvian: Latvijas futbola izlase) represents Latvia in international football and is controlled by the Latvian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Latvia. They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, however, they qualified for the European Championship in 2004 under head coach Aleksandrs Starkovs.

Latvia, alongside their Baltic rivals, Lithuania and Estonia, have also participated in the local sub-regional Baltic Cup tournament, which takes place every two years. Latvia is the current champion, having won the tournament in 2018. Latvia has won the Baltic Cup championship a record 13 times, more than any other country in the history of the tournament.

Latvia's current home ground is the Daugava Stadium in Riga.

History

Latvia played their first match in 1922, a game against Estonia, which finished in a 1-1 draw. Latvia have won the Baltic Cup 12 times, and played 99 official games during its pre-war period from 1922 to 1940.[4][5]

In 1937, the Latvian team participated in the first qualification tournament for the 1938 World Cup. Latvia were placed in Group 8, alongside Austria and Lithuania.[6] Latvia beat Lithuania 4-2 in Riga, after a Fricis Ka?eps hat-trick and an I?ja Vestermans goal.[6] In Kaunas, they won 5-1, after two goals each from Ka?eps, Vaclavs Bordu?ko, and Vestermans,[6] but lost 1-2 in the decisive away match against Austria, despite an early goal from Vestermans.[6] In April 1938, the Austrian Anschluss relegated the Austrian team, however, Latvia was not invited to the tournament by FIFA as the group's runner-up.[7]

Latvian fans at Euro 2004

In 1940, Latvia was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union; the country regained its independence in 1991 and played their first match against Estonia on 16 November of that year in the Baltic Cup, and their first FIFA-recognized match against Romania on 8 April 1992 in Bucharest, a match, which Latvia lost 2-0.[8]

In September 2003, Latvia surprisingly finished second, ahead of Poland, in their qualifying group for Euro 2004.[9] This meant they qualified for the play-offs, where they were drawn against Turkey. Latvia won the first leg 1-0, through top goalscorer, M?ris Verpakovskis.[10] The second leg finished in a 2-2 draw, with Latvia winning 3-2 on aggregate, thus qualifying for the tournament.[11][12] This resulted in Latvia being the first and only Baltic team, as well as being the second former-Soviet state in Europe at the time (after Russia) to qualify for a European Championship.[11][12] At Euro 2004, Latvia were drawn in Group D, alongside Germany, Czech Republic, and Netherlands.[13] Latvia faced Czech Republic in their opening match on 15 June 2004, with Verpakovskis scoring before half-time.[14] However, the Czechs would later come back to win the game 2-1.[14] Four days later, Latvia earned a respectable 0-0 draw against Germany to earn their first point in a major tournament.[15] They lost their final match with 3-0 against Netherlands,[16] and were eliminated, finishing fourth, with one point from their draw and two losses.[17]

Latvia have since failed to qualify for another major tournament, though they came close to qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. After eight qualifying matches, Latvia were level on points with their next opponent, second-placed Greece, but a 5-2 defeat virtually ended all hopes of qualification and Latvia finished third in UEFA Group 2.

Stadium

The majority of home matches take place at the Daugava Stadium in Riga. Between 2000 and 2018, the main base for the team was the Skonto Stadium, which was built as a temporary location due to the planned renovation of Daugava Stadium, which started only in 2017, with the first stage completed a year later.

Home venues record

The following table provides a summary of Latvia's results at home venues since 1992.

Key: Pld-games played, W-games won, D-games drawn; L-games lost, %-win percentage
Stadium City / town Pld W D L Win % Last match hosted
Skonto stadions R?ga 62 19 15 28 030.6 2017
Daugavas stadions R?ga 31 11 7 13 035.5 2018
Daugavas stadions Liep?ja 6 4 0 2 066.7 2016
Olimpiskais stadions Ventspils 1 1 0 0 100.0 2002
ASK stadions R?ga 1 0 0 1 000.0 1994
Ozolnieku stadions Ozolnieki 1 0 1 0 000.0 1994
Totals 102 35 23 44 --

Last updated: Latvia v. Azerbaijan, June 8, 2018.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter Declined participation
Italy 1934
France 1938 Did not qualify 3 2 0 1 10 5
Brazil 1950 Part of the  Soviet Union Part of the  Soviet Union
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990
United States 1994 Did not qualify 12 0 5 7 4 21
France 1998 10 3 1 6 10 14
South Korea Japan 2002 8 1 1 6 5 16
Germany 2006 12 4 3 5 18 21
South Africa 2010 10 5 2 3 18 15
Brazil 2014 10 2 2 6 10 20
Russia 2018 10 2 1 7 7 18
Qatar 2022 To be determined To be determined
Canada Mexico United States 2026
Total 0/23 75 19 15 41 82 130

UEFA European Championship record

UEFA European Championship record UEFA European Championship qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D * L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
France 1960 Part of the  Soviet Union Part of the  Soviet Union
Spain 1964
Italy 1968
Belgium 1972
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976
Italy 1980
France 1984
West Germany 1988
Sweden 1992
England 1996 Did not qualify 10 4 0 6 11 20
Belgium Netherlands 2000 10 3 4 3 13 12
Portugal 2004 Group Stage 14th 3 0 1 2 1 5 10 6 2 2 13 8
Austria Switzerland 2008 Did not qualify 12 4 0 8 15 17
Poland Ukraine 2012 10 3 2 5 9 12
France 2016 10 0 5 5 6 19
European Union 2020 10 1 0 9 3 28
Germany 2024 To be determined To be determined
Total Best: Group Stage 1/7 3 0 1 2 1 5 72 21 13 38 70 116

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Season Division Group Round Position Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2018-19 D 1 Group stage 3rd 6 0 4 2 2 6 Same position 51st
2020-21 D 1 Group stage 3rd 6 1 4 1 8 4 Same position 53rd
2022-23 D TBA To be determined
Total Group stage 2/2 12 1 8 3 10 10 51st

Baltic Cup Championship record

13-time winners - 1928, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018

Baltic Cup Championship record
Year Result GP W D L GF GA
1928 Champions 2 2 0 0 4 0
1929 Runners-up 2 1 1 0 5 3
1930 Runners-up 2 1 1 0 6 5
1931 Runners-up 2 1 0 1 2 3
1932 Champions 2 2 0 0 5 1
1933 Champions 2 1 1 0 3 2
1935 Runners-up 2 0 2 0 3 3
1936 Champions 2 2 0 0 4 2
1937 Champions 2 1 1 0 6 2
1938 Runners-up 2 0 2 0 2 2
1991 Runners-up 2 1 1 0 3 1
1992 Runners-up 2 1 0 1 4 4
1993 Champions 2 1 1 0 2 0
1994 Runners-up 2 1 0 1 2 1
1995 Champions 2 2 0 0 4 0
1996 Third place 2 0 1 1 2 3
1997 Runners-up 2 1 0 1 2 2
1998 Runners-up 2 1 0 1 2 1
2001 Champions 2 2 0 0 7 2
2003 Champions 2 1 1 0 2 1
2005 Runners-up 1 0 0 1 0 2
2008 Champions 2 2 0 0 3 1
2010 Runners-up 2 0 2 0 0 0
2012 Champions 2 2 0 0 6 1
2014 Champions 2 2 0 0 1 0
2016 Champions 2 1 1 0 2 1
2018 Champions 2 1 1 0 2 1
Total 27/27 53 28 18 7 84 45

Olympic Games record

Olympic Games record
Year Position GP W D L GS GA
France 1924 Olympics 22nd 1 0 0 1 0 7
Total 1 0 0 1 0 7

All-time team record

As of 19 November 2019 after match against  Austria[18]

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Results and fixtures

Recent and forthcoming matches

Date Competition City Opponent Result Scorers
16 November 2019 (2019-11-16) UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Slovenia Ljubljana  Slovenia 0-1
19 November 2019 (2019-11-19) UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Latvia Riga  Austria 1-0 M?rcis O?s
2020
TBD 2020 Baltic Cup Latvia  Lithuania
TBD 2020 Baltic Cup Estonia Kuressaare  Estonia
3 September 2020 (2020-09-03) 2020-21 UEFA Nations League Latvia Riga  Andorra 0-0
6 September 2020 (2020-09-06) 2020-21 UEFA Nations League Malta Ta' Qali  Malta 1-1 Matthew Guillaumier (o.g.)
7 October 2020 (2020-10-07) Friendly Montenegro Podgorica  Montenegro 1-1 Igors Tarasovs
10 October 2020 (2020-10-10) 2020-21 UEFA Nations League Faroe Islands Tórshavn  Faroe Islands 1-1 J?nis Ikaunieks
13 October 2020 (2020-10-13) 2020-21 UEFA Nations League Latvia Riga  Malta 0-1
11 November 2020 (2020-11-11) Friendly San Marino Serravalle  San Marino 3-0 Cristian Brolli (o.g.), Kaspars Dubra, Vladislavs Gutkovskis
14 November 2020 (2020-11-14) 2020-21 UEFA Nations League Latvia Riga  Faroe Islands 1-1 Vladimirs Kame?s
17 November 2020 (2020-11-17) 2020-21 UEFA Nations League Andorra Andorra la Vella  Andorra 5-0 Antonijs ?ernomordijs, J?nis Ikaunieks, Vladislavs Gutkovskis, Raimonds Krollis

Coaching staff

Position Name
Head coach Latvia Dainis Kazakevi?s
Assistant coach Latvia Jur?is Pu?insks
Latvia J?nis Intenbergs
Latvia Marians Pahars
Analyst Latvia Vladimirs Serbins
Fitness coach Latvia M?ris Smirnovs
Goalkeeping coach Latvia Aleksandrs Proskur?ins
Physiotherapist Latvia Art?rs Ivu?k?ns
Latvia Jurijs Ksenzovs
Latvia Dmitrijs Jefremenkovs
Masseur Latvia Sergejs Avakovs
Doctor Latvia Boriss Novikovs
Manager Latvia Aivars Vaivods
Kitman Latvia J?nis Zelti
Media officer Latvia Viktors Sopirins

List of managers

Head coaches

Players

Vit?lijs Astafjevs played for Latvia more than anyone else, with 167 caps from 1992 to 2010.[19] He also held the European record for 7 years for most matches played for the national team from 2009 until March 2017, when his record was beaten by Gianluigi Buffon.[20] Astafjevs has netted 16 times.[20]Aleksejs Viakovs is the most capped active player for Latvia with 81 appearances, as of November 2020.[20]M?ris Verpakovskis is the nation's top goalscorer with 29 goals.[20] Other high scorers include ?riks P?tersons with 24 goals scored in the 1930s and Marians Pahars and Juris Laiz?ns, who both scored 15 goals each for Latvia.[20]

Current squad

The following players have been called up for the friendly game against San Marino on 11 November 2020 and 2020-21 UEFA Nations League matches against Faroe Islands on 14 November 2020 and Andorra on 17 November 2020.
All caps and goals as of 13 October 2020 after the match against Malta.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
12 1GK Roberts Ozols (1995-09-10) 10 September 1995 (age 25) 4 0 Latvia Riga
- 1GK Kaspars Ikstens (1988-06-05) 5 June 1988 (age 32) 2 0 Latvia RFS
23 1GK D?vis O?s (1994-12-03) 3 December 1994 (age 26) 0 0 Latvia Spartaks J?rmala
4 2DF Kaspars Dubra (1990-12-20) 20 December 1990 (age 30) 42 3 Ukraine Oleksandriya
3 2DF M?rcis O?s (1991-07-25) 25 July 1991 (age 29) 14 1 Switzerland Lugano
13 2DF Raivis Jurkovskis (1996-12-07) 7 December 1996 (age 24) 11 0 Republic of Ireland Dundalk F.C.
6 2DF Antonijs ?ernomordijs (1996-09-26) 26 September 1996 (age 24) 8 1 Latvia Riga
21 2DF Kri?s K?rkli (1996-01-31) 31 January 1996 (age 25) 6 0 Latvia Valmiera
5 2DF Elvis Stuglis (1993-07-04) 4 July 1993 (age 27) 3 0 Latvia Riga
2 2DF Vladislavs Sorokins (1997-05-10) 10 May 1997 (age 23) 1 0 Latvia RFS
17 3MF Art?rs Zjuzins (1991-06-18) 18 June 1991 (age 29) 40 7 Latvia RFS
- 3MF Ritvars Rugins (1989-10-17) 17 October 1989 (age 31) 39 0 Latvia Riga
10 3MF J?nis Ikaunieks (1995-02-16) 16 February 1995 (age 26) 32 6 Latvia RFS
- 3MF Vladimirs Kame?s (1988-10-28) 28 October 1988 (age 32) 27 3 Latvia Riga
11 3MF Roberts Sava?nieks (1993-02-04) 4 February 1993 (age 28) 24 0 Latvia RFS
14 3MF Andrejs Ciga?iks (1997-04-12) 12 April 1997 (age 23) 13 0 Ukraine Zorya Luhansk
15 3MF Vladislavs Fjodorovs (1996-09-27) 27 September 1996 (age 24) 8 1 Latvia Riga
19 3MF M?rti ?igurs (1997-03-31) 31 March 1997 (age 23) 9 0 Latvia Liep?ja
16 3MF Alvis Jaunzems (1999-06-16) 16 June 1999 (age 21) 5 0 Latvia Valmiera
8 3MF Daniels Ontuns (2000-03-07) 7 March 2000 (age 20) 5 0 Germany Bayern Munich II
- 3MF Aleksejs Saveljevs (1999-01-30) 30 January 1999 (age 22) 3 0 Italy Mantova
2 3MF Eduards T?denbergs (1994-12-18) 18 December 1994 (age 26) 1 0 Latvia Liep?ja
- 3MF Ingars Stuglis (1996-02-12) 12 February 1996 (age 25) 1 0 Latvia Liep?ja
9 4FW D?vis Ikaunieks (1994-01-07) 7 January 1994 (age 27) 27 4 Czech Republic Mladá Boleslav
22 4FW Vladislavs Gutkovskis (1995-04-02) 2 April 1995 (age 25) 23 2 Poland Raków Cz?stochowa
16 4FW Raimonds Krollis (2001-10-28) 28 October 2001 (age 19) 4 1 Latvia METTA/LU

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK P?vels ?teinbors (1985-09-21) 21 September 1985 (age 35) 15 0 Poland Jagiellonia Bia?ystok v.  Malta, 13 October 2020
MF Igors Tarasovs (1988-10-16) 16 October 1988 (age 32) 36 2 Cyprus Ethnikos Achna v.  Faroe Islands, 14 November 2020INJ
MF G?ebs K?u?kins (1992-10-01) 1 October 1992 (age 28) 19 2 Lithuania S?duva v.  Malta, 13 October 2020
MF Eduards Emsis (1996-02-23) 23 February 1996 (age 25) 5 0 Armenia Noah v.  San Marino, 11 November 2020INJ
MF Kristers Tobers (2000-12-13) 13 December 2000 (age 20) 8 0 Poland Lechia Gda?sk v.  Malta, 13 October 2020
FW Roberts Uldri?is (1998-04-03) 3 April 1998 (age 22) 18 1 Switzerland Sion v.  Faroe Islands, 14 November 2020CLUB
Notes
  • COV = Withdrew because of COVID-19.
  • U21 = Was called up from national U21 squad.
  • WD = The player withdrew for private reasons.
  • PRE = Preliminary squad.
  • CLUB = It is not part of the current squad after the club has not allowed him to join.
  • INJ = It is not part of the current squad due to injury.

Player records

As of 17 November 2020[21]
Players in bold are still active with Latvia.

Most capped players

# Player Caps Goals Period
1. Vit?lijs Astafjevs 167 16 1992-2010
2. Andrejs Rubins 117 9 1998-2011
3. Juris Laiz?ns 113 15 1998-2013
4. Imants Bleidelis 106 10 1995-2007
5. Mihails Zem?inskis 105 12 1992-2005
6. M?ris Verpakovskis 104 29 1999-2014
7. Igors Stepanovs 100 4 1995-2011
Andris Va?ins 100 0 2000-2019
9. Aleksandrs Ko?inko 94 0 1997-2015
10. Kaspars Gork?s 89 5 2005-2017

Top goalscorers

# Player Goals Caps Average Period
1. M?ris Verpakovskis 29 104 0.28 1999-2014
2. ?riks P?tersons 24 63 0.38 1929-1939
3. Vit?lijs Astafjevs 16 167 0.1 1992-2010
4. Marians Pahars 15 75 0.2 1996-2007
Juris Laiz?ns 15 113 0.13 1998-2013
6. Alberts ?eibelis 14 54 0.26 1925-1939
7. I?ja Vestermans 13 23 0.57 1935-1938
8. Aleksandrs Cau?a 12 45 0.27 2007-2015
Val?rijs ?abala 12 52 0.23 2013-present
Mihails Zem?inskis 12 105 0.11 1992-2005

Hat-tricks

Player Competition Against Home/Away Result Date
Voldem?rs ?ins International Friendly Lithuania Lithuania Home 6-3 27 July 1927
Voldem?rs Plade 1929 Baltic Cup Lithuania Lithuania Home 3-1 14 August 1929
?riks P?tersons 1930 Baltic Cup Lithuania Lithuania Away 3-3 17 August 1930
?riks P?tersons 4 International Friendly Lithuania Lithuania Home 5-2 30 June 1931
?riks P?tersons International Friendly Lithuania Lithuania Home 6-2 12 June 1933
Hugo V?tols International Friendly Lithuania Lithuania Home 6-1 30 May 1935
Fricis Ka?eps 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification Lithuania Lithuania Home 4-2 29 July 1937
  • 4 Player scored 4 goals

Clean sheets

Rank Player Games
1 Andris Va?ins 25
2 Aleksandrs Ko?inko 21
3 O?egs Karavajevs 13
4 Raimonds Laiz?ns 12
5 Arv?ds Jurgens 5
J?nis Bebris 5
7 J?nis K?avi 4
8 Andrejs Piedels 2
P?vels ?teinbors 2
Roberts Ozols 2

See also

References

  1. ^ Kr?gers, Ren?rs. "Jauna identit?te". www.lff.lv. LFF. Retrieved 2018.
  2. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 2021.
  3. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 2020.
  4. ^ "Latvian national team history". Latvian Football Federation. Retrieved 2012.
  5. ^ "1922-1940. gads (99 sp?les)". Latvian Football Federation (in Latvian). Retrieved 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d "World Cup 1938 - Qualifying". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2012.
  7. ^ "1938 FIFA World Cup France (TM) Preliminaries". International Federation of Association Football. Retrieved 2012.
  8. ^ "1992. gads". Latvian Football Federation (in Latvian). Retrieved 2012.
  9. ^ "How they qualified: Latvia". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 21 May 2004. Retrieved 2012.
  10. ^ "Verpakovskis sparks Latvian joy". Unions of European Football Associations. 16 November 2003. Retrieved 2012.
  11. ^ a b "Joyful Latvia make history". Unions of European Football Associations. 20 November 2003. Retrieved 2012.
  12. ^ a b "Latvia claim historic win". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 2012.
  13. ^ "Euro 2004 draw". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2012.
  14. ^ a b "Czech Rep 2-1 Latvia". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 15 June 2004. Retrieved 2012.
  15. ^ "Latvia 0-0 Germany". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 June 2004. Retrieved 2012.
  16. ^ "Holland 3-0 Latvia". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 23 June 2004. Retrieved 2012.
  17. ^ "Group D". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 May 2004. Retrieved 2012.
  18. ^ "World Football Elo Ratings: Latvia". Elo Ratings. Retrieved 2017.
  19. ^ "Vitalijs Astafjevs - Century of International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2012.
  20. ^ a b c d e "Latvia - Record International Players". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2012.
  21. ^ Mamrud, Roberto. "Latvia - Record International Players". RSSSF.

External links


  This article uses material from the Wikipedia page available here. It is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

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