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 Increase 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 Latvia Marians Pahars
General manager Latvia Roberts Mežeckis
Assistant manager Latvia Vitālijs Astafjevs
Assistant manager Latvia Andris Riherts
Goalkeeping coach Latvia Andrejs Piedels
LFF Coach Latvia Aleksandrs Starkovs
Fitness coach Latvia Dāvis Caune
Sports manager Latvia Māris Verpakovskis
Kitman Latvia Jānis Zeltiņš
Physiotherapist Latvia Artūrs Ivuškāns
Masseur Latvia Jurijs Ksenzovs
Masseur Latvia Aleksandrs Jurovskis
Team doctor Latvia Oļegs Samoiļenko
Media officer Latvia 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
France 1938 Entry not accepted by FIFA
1950 to 1990 Part of  Soviet Union
1994 to 2014 Did not qualify
Russia 2018 To be determined
Qatar 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
Portugal 2004 Group Stage 14th 3 0 1 2 1 5
2008 to 2016 Did not qualify
European Union 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
France 1924 Olympics22nd100107
Total 100107

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
England 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 Northern Ireland Belfast  Northern Ireland 0–1
25 March 2016 Friendly Slovakia Trnava  Slovakia 0–0
29 March 2016 Friendly Gibraltar Gibraltar  Gibraltar 5–0 Jānis Ikaunieks 2x, Kaspars Dubra, Valērijs Šabala, Aleksejs Višņakovs
1 June 2016 2016 Baltic Cup Latvia Liepāja  Lithuania 2–1 Artūrs Zjuzins, Artjoms Rudņevs
4 June 2016 2016 Baltic Cup Estonia Tallinn  Estonia 0–0
2 September 2016 Friendly Latvia Rīga  Luxembourg 3–1 Dāvis Ikaunieks, Artūrs Zjuzins 2x
6 September 2016 FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification Andorra Andorra la Vella  Andorra 1–0 Valērijs Šabala
7 October 2016 FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification Latvia Rīga  Faroe Islands 0–2
10 October 2016 FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification Latvia Rīga  Hungary 0–2
13 November 2016 FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification Portugal Algarve  Portugal 1–4 Artūrs Zjuzins
25 March 2017 FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification Switzerland   Switzerland
9 June 2017 FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification Latvia Rīga  Portugal
31 August 2017 FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification Hungary  Hungary
3 September 2017 FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification Latvia Rīga   Switzerland
7 October 2017 FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification Faroe Islands  Faroe Islands
10 October 2017 FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification Latvia 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
1GK Andris Vaņins (1980-04-30) 30 April 1980 79 0 Switzerland Zürich
1GK Pāvels Šteinbors (1985-09-21) 21 September 1985 1 0 Poland Arka Gdynia
1GK Kaspars Ikstens (1988-06-05) 5 June 1988 0 0 Latvia Jelgava
2DF Kaspars Gorkšs (Captain) (1981-11-06) 6 November 1981 82 5 Latvia Liepāja
2DF Vladislavs Gabovs (1987-07-13) 13 July 1987 30 0 Poland Korona Kielce
2DF Vitālijs Maksimenko (1990-12-08) 8 December 1990 28 1 Austria Mattersburg
2DF Igors Tarasovs (1988-10-16) 16 October 1988 18 0 Turkey Giresunspor
2DF Vitālijs Jagodinskis (1992-02-28) 28 February 1992 13 0 Hungary Diósgyőr Miskolc
2DF Gints Freimanis (1985-05-09) 9 May 1985 7 0 Latvia Jelgava
2DF Mārcis Ošs (1991-07-25) 25 July 1991 0 0 Latvia Jelgava
3MF Aleksejs Višņakovs (1984-02-03) 3 February 1984 73 9 Latvia Rīgas Futbola skola
3MF Oļegs Laizāns (1987-03-28) 28 March 1987 38 0 Latvia Riga
3MF Artūrs Zjuzins (1991-06-18) 18 June 1991 36 7 Russia Tambov
3MF Artis Lazdiņš (1986-05-03) 3 May 1986 27 0 Latvia Jelgava
3MF Ivans Lukjanovs (1987-01-24) 24 January 1987 16 0 Russia Fakel Voronezh
3MF Jānis Ikaunieks (1995-02-16) 16 February 1995 14 2 France Metz
3MF Dāvis Ikaunieks (1994-01-07) 7 January 1994 7 1 Czech Republic Vysočina Jihlava
3MF Gļebs Kļuškins (1992-10-01) 1 October 1992 4 0 Latvia Jelgava
3MF Roberts Savaļnieks (1993-02-04) 4 February 1993 4 0 Latvia Riga
4FW Ģirts Karlsons (1981-06-07) 7 June 1981 50 9 Latvia Ventspils
4FW Artjoms Rudņevs (1988-01-13) 13 January 1988 38 2 Germany Köln
4FW Artūrs Karašausks (1992-01-29) 29 January 1992 13 0 Switzerland Wil
4FW Vladislavs Gutkovskis (1995-04-02) 2 April 1995 2 0 Poland 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 (1990-01-01) 1 January 1990 8 0 Latvia Riga v.  Andorra, 6 September 2016
DF Kaspars Dubra (1990-12-20) 20 December 1990 14 1 Belarus BATE Borisov v.  Estonia, 4 June 2016INJ
DF Vladislavs Sorokins (1997-05-10) 10 May 1997 0 0 Latvia Rīgas Futbola skola v.  Gibraltar, 29 March 2016
MF Kristians Damians Torress (1985-06-18) 18 June 1985 2 0 Latvia Liepāja v.  Hungary, 10 October 2016
MF Boriss Bogdaškins (1990-02-21) 21 February 1990 0 0 Latvia Jelgava v.  Andorra, 6 September 2016
MF Andrejs Kovaļovs (1989-03-23) 23 March 1989 10 0 Latvia Jelgava v.  Gibraltar, 29 March 2016
MF Aleksandrs Cauņa (1988-01-19) 19 January 1988 45 12 Russia CSKA Moscow v.  Slovakia, 25 March 2016INJ
FW Valērijs Šabala (1994-10-12) 12 October 1994 31 10 Slovakia DAC Dunajská Streda v.  Hungary, 10 October 2016
FW Sergejs Vorobjovs (1995-10-09) 9 October 1995 3 0 Latvia Riga v.  Andorra, 6 September 2016
FW Deniss Rakels (1992-08-20) 20 August 1992 14 0 England Reading v.  Luxembourg, 2 September 2016INJ
FW Edgars Gauračs (1988-03-10) 10 March 1988 20 5 Latvia 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 Lithuania Home 6–327 July 1927
, Voldemārs PladeVoldemārs Plade 1929 Baltic Cup Lithuania Lithuania Home 3–114 August 1929
, Ēriks PētersonsĒriks Pētersons 1930 Baltic Cup Lithuania Lithuania Away 3–317 August 1930
, Ēriks PētersonsĒriks Pētersons 4 International Friendly Lithuania Lithuania Home 5–230 June 1931
, Ēriks PētersonsĒriks Pētersons International Friendly Lithuania Lithuania Home 6–212 June 1933
, Hugo VītolsHugo Vītols International Friendly Lithuania Lithuania Home 6–130 May 1935
, Fricis KaņepsFricis Kaņeps 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification Lithuania Lithuania Home 4–229 July 1937

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
Latvia Juris Rēdlihs 1924–1924
Austria Willy Malousek 1924–1924
Latvia Valters Vilsons 1925–1925
Hungary Ferenc Molnár 1926–1927
Austria Karl Kurz 1927–1927
Latvia Juris Rēdlihs 1930–1931
Latvia Jānis Lapiņš 1932–1932
Hungary Ferenc Voggenhuber 1935–1935
Austria/Nazi Germany Rudolf Stanzel 1936–1939
Latvia Kārlis Upenieks 1940–1940
Latvia Jānis Gilis 1992–1997
Georgia (country) Revaz Dzodzuashvili 1998–1999
England Gary Johnson 1999–2001
Latvia Aleksandrs Starkovs 2001–2004
Latvia Jurijs Andrejevs 2004–2007
Latvia Aleksandrs Starkovs 2007–2013
Latvia 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

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. 1 2 3 4 "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. 1 2 "Joyful Latvia make history". Unions of European Football Associations. 20 November 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  9. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 4 5 "Latvia – Record International Players". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
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