Latvia national football team

Latvia

Nickname(s)	Sarkanbaltsarkanie (Red-white-red)
Association	Latvian Football Federation
Confederation	UEFA
Head coach	Aleksandrs Starkovs
Asst coach	Jurijs Ševļakovs
Captain	Kaspars Gorkšs
Most caps	Vitālijs Astafjevs (167)
Top scorer	Māris Verpakovskis (29)
Home stadium	Skonto Stadium
FIFA code	LVA
FIFA ranking	110
Highest FIFA ranking	45 (November 2009)
Lowest FIFA ranking	118 (October 2012)
Elo ranking	85
Highest Elo ranking	39 (September 1922)
Lowest Elo ranking	124 (April 1995)
First colours Second colours
First international
Latvia 1–1 Estonia  (Riga, Latvia; 24 September 1922)  Romania 2–0 Latvia (Bucharest, Romania; 8 April 1992)
Biggest win
Latvia 9–0 Estonia  (Tallinn, Estonia; 18 August 1942)
Biggest defeat
Sweden 12–0 Latvia (Stockholm, Sweden; 29 May 1927)
European Championship
Appearances	1 (First in 2004)
Best result	Round 1, 2004

The Latvia national football team (Latvian: Valstsvienība) represents the country in international football competitions, such as the World Cup and the European Championships. It is controlled by the Latvian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Latvia. They have never qualified for the World Cup, but have qualified for the European Championship, in 2004, under Aleksandrs Starkovs who has been the current head coach since 2007. Latvia's home ground is the Skonto Stadium in Riga, where they have played their matches since its opening in 2000.

History [edit]

Latvia played their first match in 1922, a game against Estonia, which finished in a 1–1 draw. Latvia have won the Baltic Cup 10 times, and have played 99 official games during its pre-war period from 1922 to 1940.^[1][2]

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.^[3] Latvia beat Lithuania 4–2 in Riga, after an Fricis Kaņeps hat-trick and an Iļja Vestermans goal.^[3] In Kaunas, they won 5–1, after two goals each from Kaņeps, Vaclavs Borduško, and Vestermans,^[3] but lost 1–2 in the decisive match against Austria, despite an early goal from Vestermans.^[3] In April 1938, the Austrian Anschluss relegated the Austrian team, however, Latvia was not invited by FIFA as the group's runner-up.^[4]

Latvian fans at Euro 2004

In 1940, Latvia was annexed by the Soviet Union; the country regained its independence in 1991 and played their first match as a new nation 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.^[5]

In September 2003, Latvia surprisingly finished second, ahead of Poland, in their qualifying group for Euro 2004.^[6] 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.^[7] The second leg finished in a 2–2 draw, with Latvia winning 3–2 on aggregate, thus qualifying for the tournament.^[8][9] This resulted in Latvia being the first and only Baltic team qualifying for a European Championship, as well as the country itself's first ever appearance in the tournament.^[8][9] At the Euro 2004, Latvia were drawn in Group D, alongside Germany, Czech Republic, and Netherlands.^[10] Latvia faced Czech Republic in their opening match on 15 June 2004, with Verpakovskis scoring before half-time.^[11] However, the Czechs would later come back to win the game 2–1.^[11] Four days later, Latvia earned a respectable 0–0 draw against Germany to earn their first point in a major tournament.^[12] They lost their final match with 3–0 against Netherlands,^[13] and were eliminated, finished fourth, with one point from their draw and two losses.^[14]

Coaching staff [edit]

As of 1 June 2012.^[15]

Tournament records [edit]

World Cup record [edit]

• 1930 to 1934 – Did not enter
• 1938 – Did not qualify
• 1950 to 1990 – Did not enter, was part of USSR
• 1994 to 2010 – Did not qualify

European Championship record [edit]

UEFA European Championship record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1960 to 1992	Part of  Soviet Union
1996 to 2000	Did not qualify
2004	Group Stage	14th	3	0	1	2	1	5
2008 to 2012	Did not qualify
Total	Group Stage	1/13	3	0	1	2	1	5

Baltic Cup Championship record [edit]

11 time winners – 1928, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2012.

Apart from that won this tournament in 1940, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1974, 1976 as Latvian SSR.

Results and fixtures [edit]

UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying [edit]

Team v t e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Greece 10 7 3 0 14 5 +9 24  Croatia 10 7 1 2 18 7 +11 22  Israel 10 5 1 4 13 11 +2 16  Latvia 10 3 2 5 9 12 −3 11  Georgia 10 2 4 4 7 9 −2 10  Malta 10 0 1 9 4 21 −17 1

Croatia  — 2–1 0–0 3–1 2–0 3–0 Georgia  1–0 — 1–2 0–0 0–1 1–0 Greece  2–0 1–1 — 2–1 1–0 3–1 Israel  1–2 1–0 0–1 — 2–1 3–1 Latvia  0–3 1–1 1–1 1–2 — 2–0 Malta  1–3 1–1 0–1 0–2 0–2 —

2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying [edit]

Team v t e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Bosnia and Herzegovina 5 4 1 0 18 3 +15 13  Greece 5 3 1 1 6 4 +2 10  Slovakia 5 2 2 1 6 4 +2 8  Lithuania 5 1 2 2 4 7 −3 5  Latvia 5 1 1 3 6 9 −3 4  Liechtenstein 5 0 1 4 2 15 −13 1

Bosnia and Herzegovina  — 3–1 4–1 11 Oct 3–0 6 Sep Greece  0–0 — 10 Sep 15 Oct 2–0 11 Oct Latvia  7 Jun 1–2 — 2–0 6 Sep 15 Oct Liechtenstein  1–8 6 Sep 1–1 — 0–2 7 Jun Lithuania  15 Oct 7 Jun 11 Oct 10 Sep — 1–1 Slovakia  10 Sep 0–1 2–1 2–0 1–1 —

Recent and forthcoming matches [edit]

Date	Tournament	Location	Opponent	Result	Latvia scorers
22 May 2012	Friendly	Klagenfurt	Poland	0–1
1 June 2012	Baltic Cup	Võru	Lithuania	5–0	Edgars Gauračs 2x, Aleksandrs Cauņa, Aleksejs Višņakovs, Vitālijs Smirnovs
3 June 2012	Baltic Cup	Võru	Finland	1–1 (6–5p)	Edgars Gauračs, (Vitālijs Smirnovs, Oļegs Laizāns, Vladimirs Kamešs, Artūrs Zjuzins, Oskars Kļava, Vladislavs Kozlovs)
15 August 2012	Friendly	Podgorica	Montenegro	0–2
7 September 2012	FIFA World Cup 2014 qualification	Riga	Greece	1–2	Aleksandrs Cauņa
11 September 2012	FIFA World Cup 2014 qualification	Zenica	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1–4	Kaspars Gorkšs
12 October 2012	FIFA World Cup 2014 qualification	Bratislava	Slovakia	1–2	Māris Verpakovskis
16 October 2012	FIFA World Cup 2014 qualification	Riga	Liechtenstein	2–0	Vladimirs Kamešs, Edgars Gauračs
6 February 2013	Friendly	Kobe	Japan	0–3
22 March 2013	FIFA World Cup 2014 qualification	Vaduz	Liechtenstein	1–1	Aleksandrs Cauņa
24 May 2013	Friendly	Doha	Qatar
28 May 2013	Friendly	Duisburg	Turkey
7 June 2013	FIFA World Cup 2014 qualification	Riga	Bosnia and Herzegovina

Players [edit]

Vitālijs Astafjevs has played for Latvia more times than anyone else, with 167 caps from 1992 to 2010.^[16] He also holds the European record for the most played matches in the national team.^[17] Astafjevs has netted 16 times.^[17] Juris Laizāns is the most capped active player for Latvia with 108 appearances, as of March, 2013.^[17] Māris Verpakovskis is the nation's top goalscorer with 29 goals.^[17] Other high scorers include Marians Pahars and Juris Laizāns, who both have scored 15 goals each for Latvia.^[17]

Current squad [edit]

The following players have been called up for the friendly matches against Qatar on 24 May 2013 and against Turkey on 28 May 2013.

Caps and goals are correct as 22 March 2013, after the game against Liechtenstein.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club 1 1GK Artūrs Vaičulis (1990-02-26) 26 February 1990 (age 23) 0 0 Daugava Rīga 12 1GK Pāvels Doroševs (1980-10-09) 9 October 1980 (age 32) 1 0 Liepājas Metalurgs 20 1GK Jevgēņijs Ņerugals (1989-02-26) 26 February 1989 (age 24) 0 0 Daugava Daugavpils 2 2DF Nauris Bulvītis (1987-03-15) 15 March 1987 (age 26) 4 0 Spartaks Jūrmala 3 2DF Oskars Kļava (1983-08-08) 8 August 1983 (age 29) 62 1 AZAL 4 2DF Vitālijs Smirnovs (1986-06-28) 28 June 1986 (age 26) 6 1 Ventspils 6 2DF Deniss Ivanovs (1984-01-11) 11 January 1984 (age 29) 57 2 Baku 13 2DF Kaspars Gorkšs (captain) (1981-11-06) 6 November 1981 (age 31) 50 5 Wolverhampton Wanderers 14 2DF Ritvars Rugins (1989-10-17) 17 October 1989 (age 23) 14 0 Skonto Riga 19 2DF Pāvels Mihadjuks (1980-05-27) 27 May 1980 (age 32) 14 1 Daugava Rīga 19 2DF Vitālijs Maksimenko (1990-12-08) 8 December 1990 (age 22) 1 0 Yeovil Town 19 2DF Vladislavs Gabovs (1987-07-13) 13 July 1987 (age 25) 0 0 Skonto Riga 5 3MF Oļegs Laizāns (1987-03-28) 28 March 1987 (age 26) 16 0 Yenisey Krasnoyarsk 8 3MF Aleksandrs Cauņa (1988-01-19) 19 January 1988 (age 25) 38 11 CSKA Moscow 10 3MF Aleksejs Višņakovs (1984-02-03) 3 February 1984 (age 29) 50 7 Baltika Kaliningrad 11 3MF Jurijs Žigajevs (1985-11-14) 14 November 1985 (age 27) 28 1 Ventspils 15 3MF Artis Lazdiņš (1986-05-03) 3 May 1986 (age 27) 10 0 Piast Gliwice 18 3MF Alans Siņeļņikovs (1990-05-14) 14 May 1990 (age 23) 3 0 Skonto Riga 7 4FW Vladimirs Kamešs (1988-10-28) 28 October 1988 (age 24) 8 1 Amkar Perm 9 4FW Māris Verpakovskis (1979-10-15) 15 October 1979 (age 33) 97 29 Ergotelis 16 4FW Artjoms Rudņevs (1988-01-13) 13 January 1988 (age 25) 24 1 Hamburg 17 4FW Edgars Gauračs (1988-03-10) 10 March 1988 (age 25) 16 4 Torpedo Moscow

Recent callups [edit]

Players called-up within last 12 months.

Name	Date of Birth (Age)	Club	Caps	Goals
Goalkeepers
Andris Vaņins	(1980-04-30) 30 April 1980 (age 33)	Sion	55	0
Andrejs Pavlovs	(1979-02-22) 22 February 1979 (age 34)	Spartaks Jūrmala	2	0
Deniss Romanovs	(1978-09-02) 2 September 1978 (age 34)	Pro Duta	5	0
Aleksandrs Koļinko	(1975-06-18) 18 June 1975 (age 37)	Baltika Kaliningrad	86	0
Germans Māliņš	(1987-10-12) 12 October 1987 (age 25)	BATE Borisov	0	0
Defenders
Ritus Krjauklis	(1986-04-23) 23 April 1986 (age 27)	Golden Arrows	22	0
Igors Savčenkovs	(1982-11-03) 3 November 1982 (age 30)	Daugava Daugavpils	4	0
Vladimirs Bespalovs	(1988-06-22) 22 June 1988 (age 24)	Ventspils	1	0
Deniss Kačanovs	(1979-11-27) 27 November 1979 (age 33)	Daugava Rīga	29	0
Antons Kurakins	(1990-01-01) 1 January 1990 (age 23)	Ventspils	0	0
Antons Jemeļins	(1984-02-19) 19 February 1984 (age 29)	Liepājas Metalurgs	1	0
Midfielders
Aleksandrs Fertovs	(1987-06-16) 16 June 1987 (age 25)	Skonto Riga	17	0
Artūrs Zjuzins	(1991-06-18) 18 June 1991 (age 21)	Baltika Kaliningrad	7	0
Andrejs Kovaļovs	(1989-03-23) 23 March 1989 (age 24)	Daugava Daugavpils	2	0
Ivans Lukjanovs	(1987-01-24) 24 January 1987 (age 26)	Volgar Astrakhan	14	0
Igors Tarasovs	(1988-01-16) 16 January 1988 (age 25)	Ventspils	3	0
Maksims Rafaļskis	(1984-05-14) 14 May 1984 (age 29)	ÍA Akranes	13	0
Forwards
Andrejs Perepļotkins	(1984-12-27) 27 December 1984 (age 28)	Trans Narva	36	3
Vladislavs Kozlovs	(1987-11-30) 30 November 1987 (age 25)	Ventspils	3	0
Daniils Turkovs	(1988-02-17) 17 February 1988 (age 25)	Ventspils	4	0

Most capped players [edit]

Players in bold are still active.

Top goalscorers [edit]

Players in bold are still active.

Managers [edit]

Manager	Latvia career
Jānis Gilis	1992–1997
Revaz Dzodzuashvili	1998–1999
Gary Johnson	1999–2001
Aleksandrs Starkovs	2001–2004
Jurijs Andrejevs	2004–2007
Aleksandrs Starkovs	2007–present

See also [edit]

• Latvia national under-21 football team
• Latvia national under-19 football team
• Latvia national under-17 football team

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Latvia national football team

• Official website (Latvian) (English)
• Latvia national team results at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
• Latvia national team most capped players and highest goalscorers at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
• Latvia official profile at Unions of European Football Associations

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