Latvia national football team

Latvia

Nickname(s)	Sarkanbaltsarkanie (Red-white-red)
Association	Latvijas Futbola federācija
Confederation	UEFA
Head coach	Marians Pahars
Captain	Kaspars Gorkšs
Most caps	Vitālijs Astafjevs (167)
Top scorer	Māris Verpakovskis (29)
Home stadium	Skonto Stadium
FIFA code	LVA
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	112 4 (24 November 2016)
Highest	45 (November 2009)
Lowest	119 (June 2013)
Elo ranking
Current	104 (12 October 2016)
Highest	45 (25 September 1938)
Lowest	124 (April 1995)
First international
Latvia 1–0 Estonia  (Riga, Latvia; 24 September 1922)
Biggest win
Latvia 5-0 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
Appearances	1 (first in 2004)
Best result	Group stage, 2004

The Latvia national football team (Latvian: Latvijas futbola izlase) 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. The team is now being managed by Marians Pahars. Latvia's home ground is the Skonto Stadium in Riga, where they have played their matches since its opening in 2000.

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 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] Before the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament, Latvia were the only team who qualified to the European Championship, but not to FIFA World Cup.

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Manager	Marians Pahars
General manager	Roberts Mežeckis
Assistant manager	Vitālijs Astafjevs
Assistant manager	Andris Riherts
Goalkeeping coach	Andrejs Piedels
LFF Coach	Aleksandrs Starkovs
Fitness coach	Dāvis Caune
Sports manager	Māris Verpakovskis
Kitman	Jānis Zeltiņš
Physiotherapist	Artūrs Ivuškāns
Masseur	Jurijs Ksenzovs
Masseur	Aleksandrs Jurovskis
Team doctor	Oļegs Samoiļenko
Media officer	Viktors Sopirins

Tournament records

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1934	Did not enter
1938	Entry not accepted by FIFA
1950 to 1990	Part of  Soviet Union
1994 to 2014	Did not qualify
2018	To be determined
2022
Total		0/20

European Championship record

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 2016	Did not qualify
2020	To be determined
Total	Group Stage	1/15	3	0	1	2	1	5

Baltic Cup Championship record

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

Olympic games

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

All-time team record

The following table shows Latvia's all-time international record, correct as of 13 November 2015 (as per LFF statistics).

Against	Played	Won	Drawn *	Lost	GF	GA	GD
Albania	5	0	5	0	6	6	0
Andorra	3	3	0	0	9	1	+8
Angola	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Armenia	2	1	1	0	2	0	+2
Austria	7	1	1	5	8	18	−10
Azerbaijan	3	0	3	0	2	2	0
Bahrain	1	0	1	0	2	2	0
Belarus	6	1	1	4	7	13	−6
Belgium	2	0	0	2	1	7	−6
Bolivia	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2	0	0	2	1	9	−8
Brazil	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3
Bulgaria	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6
China PR	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Croatia	4	0	0	4	1	10	−9
Cyprus	2	0	0	2	0	3	−3
Czech Republic	5	0	2	3	5	10	−5
Czechoslovakia	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1
Denmark	4	0	1	3	1	7	−6
Estonia	52	24	19	9	77	55	+22
Finland	17	4	3	10	18	32	−14
Faroe Islands	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
France	1	0	0	1	0	7	−7
Georgia	7	3	2	2	10	9	+1
Germany	3	0	1	2	1	6	−5
Ghana	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Gibraltar	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5
Greece	8	1	2	5	6	13	−7
Honduras	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1
Hungary	6	2	0	4	9	11	−2
Iceland	6	2	2	2	11	11	0
Israel	6	1	1	4	5	12	−7
Japan	2	0	1	1	2	5	−3
Kazakhstan	6	2	2	2	5	4	+1
Kuwait	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Liechtenstein	9	7	1	1	15	4	+11
Lithuania	50	26	10	14	108	68	+40
Luxembourg	6	5	1	0	17	3	+14
Macedonia	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1
Malta	5	3	0	2	7	3	+4
Moldova	3	2	0	1	6	5	+1
Montenegro	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Netherlands	3	0	0	3	0	11	−11
North Korea	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1
Northern Ireland	7	2	0	5	4	8	−4
Norway	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1
Oman	2	1	0	1	4	4	0
Poland	13	2	2	9	15	35	−20
Portugal	4	0	0	4	3	11	−8
Qatar	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2
Republic of Ireland	5	0	0	5	1	14	−13
Romania	5	0	1	4	0	9	−9
Russia	4	0	1	3	2	7	−5
San Marino	4	3	1	0	6	1	+5
Scotland	4	0	0	4	1	7	−6
Slovakia	5	0	2	3	6	12	−6
Slovenia	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1
South Korea	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Spain	4	0	1	3	0	9	−9
Sweden	17	2	4	11	12	54	−42
Switzerland	3	0	1	2	3	5	−2
Thailand	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Tunisia	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3
Turkey	6	1	4	1	9	10	−1
Ukraine	3	0	1	2	1	3	−2
United States	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Uzbekistan	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3
Wales	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Yeovil Town	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Total	350	106	80	164	432	578	−146

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Results and fixtures

2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying

{{2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group B |expanded=yes |fixtures=yes |tiebreakers=yes}}

Recent and forthcoming matches

Date	Competition	City	Opponent	Result	Scorers
13 November 2015	Friendly	Belfast	Northern Ireland	0–1
25 March 2016	Friendly	Trnava	Slovakia	0–0
29 March 2016	Friendly	Gibraltar	Gibraltar	5–0	Jānis Ikaunieks 2x, Kaspars Dubra, Valērijs Šabala, Aleksejs Višņakovs
1 June 2016	2016 Baltic Cup	Liepāja	Lithuania	2–1	Artūrs Zjuzins, Artjoms Rudņevs
4 June 2016	2016 Baltic Cup	Tallinn	Estonia	0–0
2 September 2016	Friendly	Rīga	Luxembourg	3–1	Dāvis Ikaunieks, Artūrs Zjuzins 2x
6 September 2016	FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification	Andorra la Vella	Andorra	1–0	Valērijs Šabala
7 October 2016	FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification	Rīga	Faroe Islands	0–2
10 October 2016	FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification	Rīga	Hungary	0–2
13 November 2016	FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification	Algarve	Portugal	1–4	Artūrs Zjuzins
25 March 2017	FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification		Switzerland
9 June 2017	FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification	Rīga	Portugal
31 August 2017	FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification		Hungary
3 September 2017	FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification	Rīga	Switzerland
7 October 2017	FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification		Faroe Islands
10 October 2017	FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification	Rīga	Andorra

Players

Vitālijs Astafjevs has played for Latvia more than anyone else, with 167 caps from 1992 to 2010.^[15] He also held the European record for almost 7 years for most matches played for the national team since autumn 2009 until summer 2016 .^[16] Astafjevs has netted 16 times.^[16] Kaspars Gorkšs is the most capped active player for Latvia with 82 appearances, as of November, 2016.^[16] Māris Verpakovskis is the nation's top goalscorer with 29 goals.^[16] Other high scorers include Ēriks Pētersons with 24 goals scored in the 1930s and Marians Pahars and Juris Laizāns, who both have scored 15 goals each for Latvia.^[16]

Current squad

The following players have been called up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Portugal held on 13 November, 2016.
Caps and goals are correct as 13 November, 2016, after the game against Portugal.

0#0	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Andris Vaņins	30 April 1980	79	0	Zürich
	GK	Pāvels Šteinbors	21 September 1985	1	0	Arka Gdynia
	GK	Kaspars Ikstens	5 June 1988	0	0	Jelgava
	DF	Kaspars Gorkšs (Captain)	6 November 1981	82	5	Liepāja
	DF	Vladislavs Gabovs	13 July 1987	30	0	Korona Kielce
	DF	Vitālijs Maksimenko	8 December 1990	28	1	Mattersburg
	DF	Igors Tarasovs	16 October 1988	18	0	Giresunspor
	DF	Vitālijs Jagodinskis	28 February 1992	13	0	Diósgyőr Miskolc
	DF	Gints Freimanis	9 May 1985	7	0	Jelgava
	DF	Mārcis Ošs	25 July 1991	0	0	Jelgava
	MF	Aleksejs Višņakovs	3 February 1984	73	9	Rīgas Futbola skola
	MF	Oļegs Laizāns	28 March 1987	38	0	Riga
	MF	Artūrs Zjuzins	18 June 1991	36	7	Tambov
	MF	Artis Lazdiņš	3 May 1986	27	0	Jelgava
	MF	Ivans Lukjanovs	24 January 1987	16	0	Fakel Voronezh
	MF	Jānis Ikaunieks	16 February 1995	14	2	Metz
	MF	Dāvis Ikaunieks	7 January 1994	7	1	Vysočina Jihlava
	MF	Gļebs Kļuškins	1 October 1992	4	0	Jelgava
	MF	Roberts Savaļnieks	4 February 1993	4	0	Riga
	FW	Ģirts Karlsons	7 June 1981	50	9	Ventspils
	FW	Artjoms Rudņevs	13 January 1988	38	2	Köln
	FW	Artūrs Karašausks	29 January 1992	13	0	Wil
	FW	Vladislavs Gutkovskis	2 April 1995	2	0	Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the last twelve months. Retired players not included.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
DF	Antons Kurakins	1 January 1990	8	0	Riga	v.  Andorra, 6 September 2016
DF	Kaspars Dubra	20 December 1990	14	1	BATE Borisov	v.  Estonia, 4 June 2016^INJ
DF	Vladislavs Sorokins	10 May 1997	0	0	Rīgas Futbola skola	v.  Gibraltar, 29 March 2016
MF	Kristians Damians Torress	18 June 1985	2	0	Liepāja	v.  Hungary, 10 October 2016
MF	Boriss Bogdaškins	21 February 1990	0	0	Jelgava	v.  Andorra, 6 September 2016
MF	Andrejs Kovaļovs	23 March 1989	10	0	Jelgava	v.  Gibraltar, 29 March 2016
MF	Aleksandrs Cauņa	19 January 1988	45	12	CSKA Moscow	v.  Slovakia, 25 March 2016^INJ
FW	Valērijs Šabala	12 October 1994	31	10	DAC Dunajská Streda	v.  Hungary, 10 October 2016
FW	Sergejs Vorobjovs	9 October 1995	3	0	Riga	v.  Andorra, 6 September 2016
FW	Deniss Rakels	20 August 1992	14	0	Reading	v.  Luxembourg, 2 September 2016^INJ
FW	Edgars Gauračs	10 March 1988	20	5	Spartaks Jūrmala	v.  Estonia, 4 June 2016

Most capped players

#	Name	Career	Caps	Goals
1.	Vitālijs Astafjevs	1992–2010	167	16
2.	Andrejs Rubins	1998–2011	117	10
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
8.	Aleksandrs Koļinko	1997–2015	94	0
9.	Kaspars Gorkšs	2005–present	82	5
10.	Andrejs Štolcers	1994–2005	81	7
11.	Andris Vaņins	2000–present	79	0
12.	Marians Pahars	1996–2007	75	15
13.	Vīts Rimkus	1995–2008	73	11
	Aleksejs Višņakovs	2004–present	73	9
15	Oļegs Blagonadeždins	1992–2004	70	2
16.	Valērijs Ivanovs	1992–2001	68	1
	Dzintars Zirnis	1997–2010	68	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

#	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–present	12 (45)
	Mihails Zemļinskis	1992–2005	12 (105)
10.	Vīts Rimkus	1995–2008	11 (73)
11.	Valērijs Šabala	2013–present	10 (31)
	Arnolds Tauriņš	1925–1935	10 (39)
	Imants Bleidelis	1995–2007	10 (106)
	Andrejs Rubins	1998–2011	10 (117)
15.	Ādolfs Sīmanis	1932–1940	9 (9)
	Voldemārs Plade	1923–1929	9 (16)
	Aleksandrs Vanags	1937–1940	9 (18)
	Arkādijs Pavlovs	1924–1933	9 (37)
	Ģirts Karlsons	2003–present	9 (50)
	Aleksejs Višņakovs	2004–present	9 (73)

Players in bold are still active.

Hat-tricks

Player	Competition	Against	Home/Away	Result	Date
, Voldemārs ŽinsVoldemārs Žins	International Friendly	Lithuania	Home	6–3	27 July 1927
, Voldemārs PladeVoldemārs Plade	1929 Baltic Cup	Lithuania	Home	3–1	14 August 1929
, Ēriks PētersonsĒriks Pētersons	1930 Baltic Cup	Lithuania	Away	3–3	17 August 1930
, Ēriks PētersonsĒriks Pētersons ^4	International Friendly	Lithuania	Home	5–2	30 June 1931
, Ēriks PētersonsĒriks Pētersons	International Friendly	Lithuania	Home	6–2	12 June 1933
, Hugo VītolsHugo Vītols	International Friendly	Lithuania	Home	6–1	30 May 1935
, Fricis KaņepsFricis Kaņeps	1938 FIFA World Cup qualification	Lithuania	Home	4–2	29 July 1937

• ⁴ Player scored 4 goals

Clean Sheets

Rank	Player	Games
1	Aleksandrs Koļinko	21
2	Andris Vaņins	20
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

Managers

Manager	Latvia career
Juris Rēdlihs	1924–1924
Willy Malousek	1924–1924
Valters Vilsons	1925–1925
Ferenc Molnár	1926–1927
Karl Kurz	1927–1927
Juris Rēdlihs	1930–1931
Jānis Lapiņš	1932–1932
Ferenc Voggenhuber	1935–1935
/ Rudolf Stanzel	1936–1939
Kārlis Upenieks	1940–1940
Jānis Gilis	1992–1997
Revaz Dzodzuashvili	1998–1999
Gary Johnson	1999–2001
Aleksandrs Starkovs	2001–2004
Jurijs Andrejevs	2004–2007
Aleksandrs Starkovs	2007–2013
Marians Pahars	2013–present

Progression of Latvia association football caps record

Latvia goalscoring record

Kit suppliers

Since 2002, Latvia's kits have been supplied by Adidas.

See also

• Latvia national under-21 football team
• Latvia national under-19 football team
• Latvia national under-17 football team
• Former Soviet Republics competitive record

References

1. "Latvian national team history". Latvian Football Federation. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
2. "1922–1940. gads (99 spēles)". Latvian Football Federation (in Latvian). Retrieved 1 June 2012.
3. "World Cup 1938 – Qualifying". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
4. "1938 FIFA World Cup France ™ Preliminaries". International Federation of Association Football. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
5. "1992. gads". Latvian Football Federation (in Latvian). Retrieved 1 June 2012.
6. "How they qualified: Latvia". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 21 May 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
7. "Verpakovskis sparks Latvian joy". Unions of European Football Associations. 16 November 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
8. "Joyful Latvia make history". Unions of European Football Associations. 20 November 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
9. "Latvia claim historic win". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
10. "Euro 2004 draw". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
11. "Czech Rep 2–1 Latvia". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 15 June 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
12. "Latvia 0–0 Germany". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 June 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
13. "Holland 3–0 Latvia". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 23 June 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
14. "Group D". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 May 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
15. "Vitalijs Astafjevs – Century of International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
16. "Latvia – Record International Players". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 1 June 2012.

External links

• 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