Latvia national football team

Latvia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)11 vilki[1]
(11 Wolves)
AssociationLatvijas Futbola federācija (LFF)
ConfederationUEFA
Head coachDainis Kazakevičs
CaptainAntonijs Černomordijs
Most capsVitālijs Astafjevs (167)
Top scorerMāris Verpakovskis (29)
Home stadiumDaugava Stadium
FIFA codeLVA
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 132 Increase 1 (6 April 2023)[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; 29 March 2016)
 Andorra 0–5 Latvia 
(Andorra la Vella, Andorra; 17 November 2020)
Biggest defeat
 Sweden 12–0 Latvia 
(Stockholm, Sweden; 29 May 1927)
European Championship
Appearances1 (first in 2004)
Best resultGroup stage (2004)
This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Latvia women's 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, but did qualify 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 has won the Baltic Cup championship a record 13 times, more than any other country in the history of the tournament, most recently in 2018.

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

History

Early years

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 made the Austrian team unable to participate, however, despite being the group's runner-up, Latvia was not invited to the tournament by FIFA to replace Austria .[6]

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]

Latvian fans at Euro 2004

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, as well as being the second former-Soviet state in Europe at the time (after Russia) to qualify 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, although 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. Recent years have seen a sharp decline with many losses. In the EURO 2020 qualifiers, Latvia lost 9 out of 10 games, including a woeful 0-5 home loss to Slovenia.

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.

As of 8 June 2021.
Stadium City / town Pld W D L Win % Last match hosted
Skonto Stadium Riga 62 19 15 28 030.6 2021
Daugava Stadium Riga 31 11 7 13 035.5 2020
Daugava Stadium Liepāja 6 4 0 2 066.7 2016
Olympic Stadium Ventspils 1 1 0 0 100.0 2002
ASK Stadium Riga 1 0 0 1 000.0 1994
Ozolnieki Stadium Ozolnieki 1 0 1 0 000.0 1994
Totals102352344—

Results and fixtures
Main article: Latvia national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2022
3 June 2022 2022-23 Nations League Latvia 3–0  Andorra Riga, Latvia
21:45 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Daugava Stadium
Attendance: 5,863
Referee: Tomasz Musiał (Poland)
6 June 2022 2022-23 Nations League Latvia 1–0  Liechtenstein Riga, Latvia
21:45 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Daugava Stadium
Attendance: 5,966
Referee: Mario Zebec (Croatia)
10 June 2022 2022-23 Nations League Moldova  2–4 Latvia Chișinău, Moldova
19:00
Report
Stadium: Zimbru Stadium
Attendance: 4,842
Referee: Andrew Madley (England)
14 June 2022 2022-23 Nations League Liechtenstein  0–2 Latvia Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45 UTC+2 Report
Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion
Attendance: 885
Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (North Macedonia)
22 September 2022 2022-23 Nations League Latvia 1–2  Moldova Riga, Latvia
21:45 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: Skonto Stadium
Attendance: 6,711
Referee: António Nobre (Portugal)
25 September 2022 2022-23 Nations League Andorra  1–1 Latvia Andorra la Vella, Andorra
15:00 UTC+2 Rosas 88' Report Gutkovskis 50' Stadium: Estadi Nacional
Attendance: 1,102
Referee: Anastasios Papapetrou (Greece)
16 November 2022 2022 Baltic Cup Latvia  1–1
(5–3 p)		  Estonia Riga, Latvia
19:00 (UTC+2)
Report
Stadium: Daugava Stadium
Attendance: 1,657
Referee: Robertas Valikonis (Lithuania)
Penalties
19 November 2022 2022 Baltic Cup Latvia  1–1
(7–8 p)		  Iceland Riga, Latvia
16:00 (UTC+2) Cigaņiks 67' Jóhannesson 62' (pen.) Stadium: Daugavas stadions
Referee: Joonas Jaanovits (Estonia)
Penalties

2023
22 March 2023 (2023-03-22) Friendly Republic of Ireland  3–2  Latvia Dublin, Ireland
19:45 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 41,211
Referee: Andrei Chivulete (Romania)
28 March 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Wales  1–0  Latvia Cardiff, Wales
19:45 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 32,80
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia)
16 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Latvia  v  Turkey Riga, Latvia
21:45 UTC+3 Report Stadium: Skonto Stadium
19 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Armenia  v  Latvia Yerevan, Armenia
20:00 UTC+4 Report Stadium: Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium
8 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Croatia  v  Latvia TBD, Croatia
20:45 UTC+2 Report Stadium: TBD
12 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Latvia  v  Armenia Riga, Latvia
21:45 UTC+3 Report Stadium: Skonto Stadium
15 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Turkey  v  Latvia TBD, Turkey
21:45 UTC+3 Report Stadium: TBD
18 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Latvia  v  Croatia Riga, Latvia
19:00 UTC+2 Report Stadium: Skonto Stadium

Coaching staff
As of 20 February 2020
Position Name
Head coach Latvia Dainis Kazakevičs
Assistant coach Latvia Jurģis Pučinsks
Latvia Jānis Intenbergs
Latvia Marians Pahars
Analyst Latvia Vladimirs Serbins
Fitness coach Latvia Māris Smirnovs
Goalkeeping coach Latvia Aleksandrs Proskurņins
Physiotherapist Latvia Artūrs Ivuškāns
Latvia Jurijs Ksenzovs
Latvia Dmitrijs Jefremenkovs
Masseur Latvia Sergejs Avakovs
Doctor Latvia Boriss Novikovs
Manager Latvia Aivars Vaivods
Kitman Latvia Jānis Zeltiņš
Media officer Latvia Viktors Sopirins

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

The following players have been called up for the Friendly match on 22 March 2023 against Republic of Ireland and the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match against Wales on 28 March 2023.[17]

Caps and goals as of 28 March 2023, after the match against Wales.[18]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Pāvels Šteinbors (1985-09-22) 22 September 1985 30 0 Latvia RFS
12 1GK Roberts Ozols (1995-09-10) 10 September 1995 15 0 Latvia Auda
23 1GK Nils Puriņš (1998-08-01) 1 August 1998 0 0 Latvia Riga
2 2DF Vladislavs Sorokins (1997-05-10) 10 May 1997 7 0 Latvia RFS
3 2DF Mārcis Ošs (1991-07-25) 25 July 1991 22 1 Latvia RFS
5 2DF Antonijs Černomordijs (captain) (1996-09-26) 26 September 1996 30 1 Latvia Riga
11 2DF Roberts Savaļnieks (1993-02-04) 4 February 1993 49 2 Latvia RFS
13 2DF Raivis Jurkovskis (1996-12-07) 7 December 1996 35 0 Latvia Riga
18 2DF Elvis Stuglis (1993-07-04) 4 July 1993 9 0 Latvia RFS
21 2DF Daniels Balodis (1998-06-10) 10 June 1998 3 0 Latvia Valmiera
2DF Emīls Birka (2000-04-25) 25 April 2000 0 0 Latvia Valmiera
2DF Kaspars Dubra (1990-12-20) 20 December 1990 59 3 Latvia RFS
4 3MF Renārs Varslavāns (2001-08-23) 23 August 2001 6 0 Latvia Valmiera
6 3MF Kristers Tobers (2000-12-13) 13 December 2000 22 0 Poland Lechia Gdańsk
7 3MF Maksims Toņiševs (2000-05-12) 12 May 2000 0 0 Latvia Valmiera
8 3MF Eduards Emsis (1996-02-23) 23 February 1996 26 1 Albania Egnatia
10 3MF Jānis Ikaunieks (1995-02-16) 16 February 1995 52 12 Latvia RFS
14 3MF Andrejs Cigaņiks (1997-04-12) 12 April 1997 41 2 Poland Widzew Łódź
16 3MF Alvis Jaunzems (1999-06-16) 16 June 1999 27 0 Latvia Valmiera
17 3MF Artūrs Zjuzins (1991-06-18) 18 June 1991 60 9 Latvia RFS
22 3MF Aleksejs Saveļjevs (1999-01-30) 30 January 1999 10 1 Latvia Auda
3MF Eduards Dašķevičs (2002-07-12) 12 July 2002 0 0 Latvia Riga
9 4FW Vladislavs Gutkovskis (1995-04-02) 2 April 1995 41 11 Poland Raków Częstochowa
15 4FW Dāvis Ikaunieks (1994-01-07) 7 January 1994 42 6 Czech Republic Jablonec
19 4FW Raimonds Krollis (2001-10-28) 28 October 2001 29 3 Italy Spezia
20 4FW Roberts Uldriķis (1998-04-03) 3 April 1998 39 7 Netherlands Cambuur

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 Rihards Matrevics (1999-03-18) 18 March 1999 2 0 Latvia Riga v.  Iceland, 19 November 2022
GK Krišjānis Zviedris (1997-01-25) 25 January 1997 0 0 Latvia Liepāja v.  Andorra, 25 September 2022
DF Igors Tarasovs (1988-10-16) 16 October 1988 46 2 Cyprus Ypsonas v.  Iceland, 19 November 2022 RET
DF Krišs Kārkliņš (1996-01-31) 31 January 1996 16 0 Free agent v.  Andorra, 25 September 2022
DF Iļja Korotkovs (2000-05-24) 24 May 2000 0 0 Latvia Auda v.  Iceland, 19 November 2022
DF Ivo Minkevičs (1999-06-28) 28 June 1999 0 0 Latvia Auda v.  Iceland, 19 November 2022
MF Vladimirs Kamešs (1988-10-28) 28 October 1988 38 3 Norway Elverum v.  Liechtenstein, 6 June 2022

INJ Withdrew due to injury
RET Retired from national team

Player records
As of 4 January 2023[19]
Players in bold are still active with Latvia.

Most capped players
Rank Player Caps Goals Period
1 Vitālijs Astafjevs 167 16 1992–2010
2 Andrejs Rubins 117 9 1998–2011
3 Juris Laizāns 113 15 1998–2013
4 Imants Bleidelis 106 10 1995–2007
5 Mihails Zemļinskis 105 12 1992–2005
6 Māris Verpakovskis 104 29 1999–2014
7 Igors Stepanovs 100 4 1995–2011
Andris Vaņins 0 2000–2019
9 Aleksandrs Koliņko 94 0 1997–2015
10 Kaspars Gorkšs 89 5 2005–2017

Top goalscorers
Rank Player Goals Caps Average Period
1. Māris Verpakovskis 29 104 0.28 1999–2014
2. Ēriks Pētersons 24 63 0.38 1929–1939
3. Vitālijs Astafjevs 16 167 0.1 1992–2010
4. Marians Pahars 15 75 0.2 1996–2007
Juris Laizāns 113 0.13 1998–2013
6. Alberts Šeibelis 14 54 0.26 1925–1939
7. Iļja Vestermans 13 23 0.57 1935–1938
Valērijs Šabala 53 0.25 2013–present
9. Aleksandrs Cauņa 12 45 0.27 2007–2015
Mihails Zemļinskis 105 0.11 1992–2005

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

Clean sheets
Rank Player Games
1 Andris Vaņins 25
2 Aleksandrs Koliņko 21
3 Oļegs Karavajevs 13
4 Raimonds Laizāns 12
5 Arvīds Jurgens 5
Jānis Bebris 5
Pāvels Šteinbors 5
8 Jānis Kļaviņš 4
Roberts Ozols 4
10 Andrejs Piedels 2

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter Was not invited
Italy 1934 Declined participation
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 10 2 3 5 11 14
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total 0/11 85 21 18 46 93 144

UEFA European Championship
Main article: Latvia at the UEFA European Championship
UEFA European Championship record Qualifying record
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Squad 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 Squad 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 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 Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2018–19 D 1 604226Same position51st
2020–21 D 1 614184Same position53rd
2022–23 D 1 6411125Rise50th
2024–25 C To be determined
Total 18 5 9 4 22 15 50th

Baltic Cup
Baltic Cup record
YearResultPositionMWDLGFGA
1928Champions1st220040
1929Runners-up2nd211053
1930Runners-up2nd211065
1931Runners-up2nd210123
1932Champions1st220051
1933Abandoned1st211032
1935Runners-up2nd202033
1936Champions1st220042
1937Champions1st211062
1938Runners-up2nd202022
1991Runners-up2nd211031
1992Runners-up2nd210144
1993Champions1st211020
1994Runners-up2nd210121
1995Champions1st220040
1996Third place3rd201123
1997Runners-up2nd210122
1998Runners-up2nd210121
2001Champions1st220072
2003Champions1st211021
2005Runners-up2nd100102
2008Champions1st220031
2010Runners-up2nd202000
2012Champions1st220061
2014Champions1st220010
2016Champions1st211021
2018Champions1st211021
2020Runners-up2nd210143
Total13 Titles28/2855311688847

Olympic Games
Olympic Games record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad
France 1924Second round15th100107Squad
TotalSecond round1/1100107—

Head-to-head record

As of 11 October 2021 after match against  Turkey[20]

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Kits and crest
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Latvia national football team kits.

Latvia's kit is traditionally a carmine red jersey with white trim, carmine red shorts and socks, whilst their current away kit is all predominantly white. Latvia's kits have been produced by various manufacturers.

Until July 2018, the team crest consisted of the Latvian Football Federation logo, when it was switched to a shield with a football in the colors of the Latvian flag and 'LATVIJA' written above. A similar crest with a head of a howling wolf was also unveiled as a secondary logo for use in souvenirs etc as part of the #11vilki (#11wolves) brand.[21]

Kit suppliers
Kit supplier Period
England Umbro 1992-1994
Germany Adidas 1994-1996
Austria Tro 1996-1998
Germany Puma 1998-2000
France Tramondi 2000-2002
Germany Adidas 2002–present

See also

References
  1. Krīgers, Renārs. "Jauna identitāte". www.lff.lv. LFF. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  2. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  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. Archived from the original on 6 June 2007. 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. "PAZIŅOTS LATVIJAS IZLASES SASTĀVS SPĒLĒM ĪRIJĀ UN VELSĀ". Latvian Football Federation. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  18. "Most Latvia Caps - EU-Football.info". eu-football.info.
  19. Mamrud, Roberto. "Latvia - Record International Players". RSSSF.
  20. "World Football Elo Ratings: Latvia". Elo Ratings. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  21. "Vilks - Latvijas futbola izlases jaunā identitāte" [Wolf - the new identity of the Latvian national football team]. TVNET (in Latvian). 18 July 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
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