Latvia national football team

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.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Latvia women's national football team.

Latvia
Nickname(s)11 vilki [1]
(11 Wolves)
AssociationLatvijas Futbola federācija
ConfederationUEFA
Head coachDainis Kazakevičs
CaptainPāvels Šteinbors
Most capsVitālijs Astafjevs (167)
Top scorerMāris Verpakovskis (29)
Home stadiumDaugava Stadium
FIFA codeLVA
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 137 (16 July 2020)[2]
Highest45 (November 2009)
Lowest148 (September 2017)
First international
Latvia 1–1 Estonia 
(Riga, Latvia; 24 September 1922)
Biggest win
Latvia 6–1 Lithuania 
(Riga, Latvia; 30 May 1935)
Latvia 5–0 Lithuania 
(Võru, Estonia; 1 June 2012)
 Gibraltar 0–5 Latvia
(Gibraltar, Gibraltar; 29 March 2016)
Biggest defeat
 Sweden 12–0 Latvia
(Stockholm, Sweden; 29 May 1927)
European Championship
Appearances1 (first in 2004)
Best resultGroup stage (2004)

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.[3][4]

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.[5] Latvia beat Lithuania 4–2 in Riga, after a Fricis Kaņeps hat-trick and an Iļja Vestermans goal.[5] In Kaunas, they won 5–1, after two goals each from Kaņeps, Vaclavs Borduško, and Vestermans,[5] but lost 1–2 in the decisive away match against Austria, despite an early goal from Vestermans.[5] 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.[6]

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.[7]

In September 2003, Latvia surprisingly finished second, ahead of Poland, in their qualifying group for Euro 2004.[8] This meant they qualified for the play-offs, where they were drawn against Turkey. Latvia won the first leg 1–0, through top goalscorer, Māris Verpakovskis.[9] The second leg finished in a 2–2 draw, with Latvia winning 3–2 on aggregate, thus qualifying for the tournament.[10][11] This resulted in Latvia being the first and only Baltic team qualifying for a European Championship.[10][11] At Euro 2004, Latvia were drawn in Group D, alongside Germany, Czech Republic, and Netherlands.[12] Latvia faced Czech Republic in their opening match on 15 June 2004, with Verpakovskis scoring before half-time.[13] However, the Czechs would later come back to win the game 2–1.[13] Four days later, Latvia earned a respectable 0–0 draw against Germany to earn their first point in a major tournament.[14] They lost their final match with 3–0 against Netherlands,[15] and were eliminated, finishing fourth, with one point from their draw and two losses.[16]

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 Rīga 62 19 15 28 030.6 2017
Daugavas stadions Rīga 31 11 7 13 035.5 2018
Daugavas stadions Liepāja 6 4 0 2 066.7 2016
Olimpiskais stadions Ventspils 1 1 0 0 100.0 2002
ASK stadions Rīga 1 0 0 1 000.0 1994
Ozolnieku stadions Ozolnieki 1 0 1 0 000.0 1994
Totals102352344—

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
1930 Did not enter Declined participation
1934
1938 Did not qualify 3 2 0 1 10 5
1950 Part of the  Soviet Union Part of the  Soviet Union
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994 Did not qualify 12 0 5 7 4 21
1998 10 3 1 6 10 14
2002 8 1 1 6 5 16
2006 12 4 3 5 18 21
2010 10 5 2 3 18 15
2014 10 2 2 6 10 20
2018 10 2 1 7 7 18
2022 To be determined To be determined
2026
Total 0/23 75 19 15 41 82 130

UEFA European Championship record
Main article: Latvia at the UEFA European Championship
UEFA European Championship record UEFA European Championship qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D * L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1960 Part of the  Soviet Union Part of the  Soviet Union
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996 Did not qualify 10 4 0 6 11 20
2000 10 3 4 3 13 12
2004 Group Stage 14th 3 0 1 2 1 5 10 6 2 2 13 8
2008 Did not qualify 12 4 0 8 15 17
2012 10 3 2 5 9 12
2016 10 0 5 5 6 19
2020 10 1 0 9 3 28
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

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
1928Champions 220040
1929Runners-up 211053
1930Runners-up 211065
1931Runners-up 210123
1932Champions 220051
1933Champions 211032
1935Runners-up 202033
1936Champions 220042
1937Champions 211062
1938Runners-up 202022
1991Runners-up 211031
1992Runners-up 210144
1993Champions 211020
1994Runners-up 210121
1995Champions 220040
1996Third place 201123
1997Runners-up 210122
1998Runners-up 210121
2001Champions 220072
2003Champions 211021
2005Runners-up 100102
2008Champions 220031
2010Runners-up 202000
2012Champions 220061
2014Champions 220010
2016Champions 211021
2018Champions 211021
Total27/2753281878445

Olympic Games record
Olympic Games record
Year Position GP W D L GS GA
1924 Olympics22nd100107
Total100107

All-time team record

As of 19 November 2019 after match against  Austria[17]

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Results and fixtures

Recent and forthcoming matches
Date Competition City Opponent Result Scorers
2019
6 September 2019 (2019-09-06) UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Wals-Siezenheim  Austria 0–6
9 September 2019 (2019-09-09) UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Riga  North Macedonia 0–2
10 October 2019 (2019-10-10) UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Riga  Poland 0–3
15 October 2019 (2019-10-15) UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Beersheba  Israel 1–3 Vladimirs Kamešs
16 November 2019 (2019-11-16) UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Ljubljana  Slovenia 0–1
19 November 2019 (2019-11-19) UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Riga  Austria 1–0 Mārcis Ošs
2020
TBD 2020 Baltic Cup  Lithuania
TBD 2020 Baltic Cup Kuressaare  Estonia
3 September 2020 (2020-09-03) 2020–21 UEFA Nations League Riga  Andorra
6 September 2020 (2020-09-06) 2020–21 UEFA Nations League  Malta
9 October 2020 (2020-10-09) 2020–21 UEFA Nations League  Faroe Islands
12 October 2020 (2020-10-12) 2020–21 UEFA Nations League Riga  Malta
14 November 2020 (2020-11-14) 2020–21 UEFA Nations League Riga  Faroe Islands
17 November 2020 (2020-11-17) 2020–21 UEFA Nations League  Andorra

Coaching staff
Position Name
Manager Dainis Kazakevičs
Assistant manager(s) vacant
Fitness coach vacant
Goalkeeping coach Aleksandrs Koliņko
Physiotherapist Artūrs Ivuškāns

Jurijs Ksenzovs

Masseur Sergejs Avakovs
Doctor Oļegs Samoiļenko
Video analyst Iļja Ščaņicins
Kitman Jānis Zeltiņš
Media officer Viktors Sopirins

List of managers
Head coaches

Players

Vitālijs Astafjevs played for Latvia more than anyone else, with 167 caps from 1992 to 2010.[18] 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.[19] Astafjevs has netted 16 times.[19] Andris Vaņins is the most capped active player for Latvia with 100 appearances, as of November 2019.[19] Māris Verpakovskis is the nation's top goalscorer with 29 goals.[19] Other high scorers include Ēriks Pētersons with 24 goals scored in the 1930s and Marians Pahars and Juris Laizāns, who both scored 15 goals each for Latvia.[19]

Current squad

The following players have been called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Slovenia on 16 November 2019 and Austria on 19 November 2019.
All caps and goals as of 19 November 2019 after the match against Austria.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Andris Vaņins (1980-04-30) 30 April 1980 100 0 Zürich
23 1GK Pāvels Šteinbors (Captain) (1985-09-21) 21 September 1985 12 0 Jagiellonia Białystok
12 1GK Roberts Ozols (1995-09-10) 10 September 1995 0 0 Riga
2 2DF Vitālijs Maksimenko (1990-12-08) 8 December 1990 51 1 Omiya Ardija
4 2DF Kaspars Dubra (1990-12-20) 20 December 1990 36 2 Oleksandriya
16 2DF Igors Tarasovs (1988-10-16) 16 October 1988 35 1 KuPS
19 2DF Vitālijs Jagodinskis (1992-02-28) 28 February 1992 31 0 Valmiera
3 2DF Mārcis Ošs (1991-07-25) 25 July 1991 11 1 Neuchâtel Xamax
8 2DF Raivis Jurkovskis (1996-12-07) 7 December 1996 7 0 Liepāja
17 2DF Antonijs Černomordijs (1996-09-26) 26 September 1996 4 0 Riga
5 3MF Oļegs Laizāns (1987-03-28) 28 March 1987 54 0 Riga
7 3MF Ritvars Rugins (1989-10-17) 17 October 1989 35 0 Riga
6 3MF Vladimirs Kamešs (1988-10-28) 28 October 1988 24 2 Riga
9 3MF Dāvis Ikaunieks (1994-01-07) 7 January 1994 23 4 Mladá Boleslav
18 3MF Roberts Savaļnieks (1993-02-04) 4 February 1993 19 0 RFS
14 3MF Andrejs Cigaņiks (1997-04-12) 12 April 1997 8 0 Zorya Luhansk
13 3MF Mārtiņš Ķigurs (1997-03-31) 31 March 1997 3 0 Liepāja
15 3MF Aleksejs Grjaznovs (1997-10-01) 1 October 1997 1 0 Valmiera
10 3MF Ingars Stuglis (1996-02-12) 12 February 1996 1 0 Ventspils
22 4FW Vladislavs Gutkovskis (1995-04-02) 2 April 1995 18 0 Raków Częstochowa
20 4FW Roberts Uldriķis (1998-04-03) 3 April 1998 14 1 Sion
11 4FW Vladislavs Fjodorovs (1996-09-27) 27 September 1996 5 1 Riga
21 4FW Ēriks Punculs (1994-01-18) 18 January 1994 2 0 Valmiera

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 Vladislavs Lazarevs (1997-11-25) 25 November 1997 0 0 Valmiera v.  North Macedonia, 9 September 2019
DF Armands Pētersons (1990-12-05) 5 December 1990 2 0 Riga v.  North Macedonia, 9 September 2019
DF Vladislavs Sorokins (1997-03-10) 10 March 1997 0 0 RFS v.  North Macedonia, 9 September 2019
DF Elvis Stuglis (1993-07-04) 4 July 1993 0 0 Riga v.  North Macedonia, 9 September 2019
MF Jānis Ikaunieks (1995-02-16) 16 February 1995 25 3 RFS v.  Slovenia, 16 November 2019
MF Kristers Tobers (2000-12-13) 13 December 2000 6 0 Lechia Gdańsk v.  Slovenia, 16 November 2019
MF Daniels OntužānsINJ (2000-03-07) 7 March 2000 2 0 Bayern Munich II v.  Slovenia, 16 November 2019
MF Boriss Bogdaškins (1990-02-21) 21 February 1990 1 0 Valmiera v.  Israel, 15 October 2019
FW Deniss Rakels (1992-08-20) 20 August 1992 31 1 Pafos v.  Israel, 15 October 2019
FW Artūrs Karašausks (1992-01-29) 29 January 1992 25 1 Liepāja v.  Israel, 15 October 2019
FW Valērijs Šabala (1994-10-12) 12 October 1994 52 12 Sūduva v.  North Macedonia, 9 September 2019

Most capped players
  • Progression of Latvia association football caps record
Main article: Progression of Latvia association football caps record
# Name Career Caps Goals
1. Vitālijs Astafjevs 1992–2010 167 16
2. Andrejs Rubins 1998–2011 117 9
3. Juris Laizāns 1998–2013 113 15
4. Imants Bleidelis 1995–2007 106 10
5. Mihails Zemļinskis 1992–2005 105 12
6. Māris Verpakovskis 1999–2014 104 29
7. Igors Stepanovs 1995–2011 100 4
Andris Vaņins 2000–present 100 0
9. Aleksandrs Koļinko 1997–2015 94 0
10. Kaspars Gorkšs 2005–2017 89 5
11. Andrejs Štolcers 1994–2005 81 7
Aleksejs Višņakovs 2004–present 81 9
13. Marians Pahars 1996–2007 75 15
14. Vīts Rimkus 1995–2008 73 11
15 Oļegs Blagonadeždins 1992–2004 70 2
16. Valērijs Ivanovs 1992–2001 69 1
17. Dzintars Zirnis 1997–2010 67 0
18. Oskars Kļava 2005–2013 65 1
19. Ēriks Pētersons 1929–1939 63 24
20. Deniss Ivanovs 2003–2013 60 2
Players in bold are still active.

Top goalscorers
  • Latvia goalscoring record
Main article: Progression of Latvia association football goalscoring record
# Player Career Goals (Caps)
1. Māris Verpakovskis 1999–2014 29 (104)
2. Ēriks Pētersons 1929–1939 24 (63)
3. Vitālijs Astafjevs 1992–2010 16 (167)
4. Marians Pahars 1996–2007 15 (75)
Juris Laizāns 1998–2013 15 (113)
6. Alberts Šeibelis 1925–1939 14 (54)
7. Iļja Vestermans 1935–1938 13 (23)
8. Aleksandrs Cauņa 2007–2015 12 (45)
Valērijs Šabala 2013–present 12 (52)
Mihails Zemļinskis 1992–2005 12 (105)
11. Vīts Rimkus 1995–2008 11 (73)
12. Arnolds Tauriņš 1925–1935 10 (39)
Imants Bleidelis 1995–2007 10 (106)
14. Ādolfs Sīmanis 1932–1940 9 (9)
Voldemārs Plade 1923–1929 9 (16)
Aleksandrs Vanags 1937–1940 9 (18)
Ģirts Karlsons 2003–2017 9 (51)
Aleksejs Višņakovs 2004–present 9 (81)
Andrejs Rubins 1998–2011 9 (117)
20. Vaclavs Borduško 1934–1939 8 (25)
Arkādijs Pavlovs 1924–1933 8 (37)
Players in bold are still active.

Hat-tricks
PlayerCompetitionAgainstHome/AwayResultDate
Voldemārs Žins International Friendly LithuaniaHome6–327 July 1927
Voldemārs Plade 1929 Baltic Cup LithuaniaHome3–114 August 1929
Ēriks Pētersons 1930 Baltic Cup LithuaniaAway3–317 August 1930
Ēriks Pētersons 4International Friendly LithuaniaHome5–230 June 1931
Ēriks Pētersons International Friendly LithuaniaHome6–212 June 1933
Hugo VītolsInternational Friendly LithuaniaHome6–130 May 1935
Fricis Kaņeps 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification LithuaniaHome4–229 July 1937
  • 4 Player scored 4 goals

Clean sheets
Rank Player Games
1 Andris Vaņins 25
2 Aleksandrs Koļinko 21
3 Oļegs Karavajevs 13
4 Raimonds Laizāns 12
5 Arvīds Jurgens 5
Jānis Bebris 5
7 Jānis Kļaviņš 4
8 Andrejs Piedels 2
9 Harijs Lazdiņš 1
Andrejs Pavlovs 1
Pāvels Šteinbors 1
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See also

References
  1. Krīgers, Renārs. "Jauna identitāte". www.lff.lv. LFF. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  2. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  3. "Latvian national team history". Latvian Football Federation. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  4. "1922–1940. gads (99 spēles)". Latvian Football Federation (in Latvian). Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  5. "World Cup 1938 – Qualifying". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  6. "1938 FIFA World Cup France ™ Preliminaries". International Federation of Association Football. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  7. "1992. gads". Latvian Football Federation (in Latvian). Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  8. "How they qualified: Latvia". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 21 May 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  9. "Verpakovskis sparks Latvian joy". Unions of European Football Associations. 16 November 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  10. "Joyful Latvia make history". Unions of European Football Associations. 20 November 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  11. "Latvia claim historic win". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  12. "Euro 2004 draw". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  13. "Czech Rep 2–1 Latvia". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 15 June 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  14. "Latvia 0–0 Germany". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 June 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  15. "Holland 3–0 Latvia". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 23 June 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  16. "Group D". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 May 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  17. "World Football Elo Ratings: Latvia". Elo Ratings. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  18. "Vitalijs Astafjevs – Century of International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  19. "Latvia – Record International Players". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
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