Latvian_national_football_team

Latvia national football team

Latvia national football team

Men's association football team representing Latvia

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 men's 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.

Quick Facts Nickname(s), Association ...

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, although since the autumn of 2022 most games have been held at Skonto Stadium.

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.

Team image

Kits

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.

Crest

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.[17]

Kit suppliers

More information Kit supplier, Period ...

Media coverage

All Latvian matches are currently broadcast with full commentary on the Go3 web streaming service, owned by TV3 Group. Since the 1990s, LTV7 (initially LTV2) was the broadcaster of all of the team games, before the All Media Baltics conglomerate took over broadcasting rights in September 2018. [18] Games were broadcast on the group's TV6 channel and the TVPlay and Viaplay streaming platforms. All Media Baltics later became TV3 Group.

From the 2022 season until the 2028 season, Latvia's home and away qualifiers, and friendlies both home and away were broadcast live exclusively by Swedish Viaplay Group on their web streaming service. On 20 July 2023, Viaplay announced that it will leave the market of the Baltic states.[19][20] Upon exiting, all sports licences owned by Viasat - including the Baltic broadcasting rights for the Baltic Cup, UEFA Champions League, Premier League, Formula 1 and the NHL - were acquired by TV3 Group.[21]

Stadium

The current home matches take place at the Skonto Stadium. This stadium between 2000 and 2018 was the main base for the national team. In 2017 Daugava Stadium (Riga) reconstruction started with the first stage completed a year later. But due to the bad pitch quality which was not included in the reconstruction phase, national team all the matches played in the Skonto Stadium. There is no clarity, which stadium will be the main stadium in the future after the Daugava Stadium (Riga) pitch replacement.

Home venues record

The following table provides a summary of Latvia's results at home venues since 1992.

As of 14 June 2023.
More information Stadium, City / town ...

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

2023

28 March 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Wales  1–0  Latvia Cardiff, Wales
19:45 UTC+1
  • Moore 41'
 Report Stadium: Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 32,80
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia)
16 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Latvia  2–3  Turkey Riga, Latvia
21:45 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: Skonto Stadium
Attendance: 6,287
Referee: Tamás Bognár (Hungary)
19 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Armenia  2–1  Latvia Yerevan, Armenia
20:00 UTC+4
Report
Stadium: Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium
Attendance: 13,450
Referee: Peter Kralović (Slovakia)
8 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Croatia  5–0  Latvia Rijeka, Croatia
20:45 UTC+2
Report Stadium: Stadion Rujevica
Attendance: 8,152
Referee: Philip Farrugia (Malta)
11 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Latvia  0–2  Wales Riga, Latvia
20:45 UTC+3 Report
Stadium: Skonto Stadium
Attendance: 6,464
Referee: Michal Ocenáš (Slovakia)
12 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Latvia  2–0  Armenia Riga, Latvia
19:00 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Skonto Stadium
Attendance: 5,128
Referee: Rade Obrenovič (Slovenia)
15 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Turkey  4–0  Latvia Konya, Turkey
21:45 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium
Attendance: 35,925
Referee: Enea Jorgji (Albania)
18 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Latvia  0–2  Croatia Riga, Latvia
19:00 UTC+2 Report
Stadium: Skonto Stadium
Attendance: 6,747
Referee: Urs Schnyder (Switzerland)
21 November 2023 Friendly Poland  2–0  Latvia Warsaw, Poland
21:45 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Stadion Narodowy
Attendance: 31,000
Referee: Ondrej Berka (Czech Republic)

2024

21 March 2024 Friendly Cyprus  1–1  Latvia Larnaca, Cyprus
20:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: AEK Arena
Referee: Lukas Fähndrich (Switzerland)
26 March 2024 Friendly Latvia  1–1  Liechtenstein Larnaca, Cyprus
19:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium
Referee: Manfredas Lukjančukas (Lithuania)
8 June 2024 2024 Baltic Cup Latvia  v  Lithuania TBD
--:-- UTC+3 Stadium: TBD
11 June 2024 2024 Baltic Cup Latvia  v  Estonia/ Faroe Islands TBD
(UTC+3) Stadium: TBD
7 September 2024 2024–25 Nations League Armenia  v  Latvia Yerevan, Armenia
20:00 UTC+4 Stadium: Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium
10 September 2024 2024–25 Nations League Latvia  v  Faroe Islands Latvia
21:45 UTC+3 Stadium: TBD
10 October 2024 2024–25 Nations League Latvia  v  North Macedonia Latvia
21:45 UTC+3 Stadium: TBD
13 October 2024 2024–25 Nations League Faroe Islands  v  Latvia Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
19:45 UTC+1 Stadium: Tórsvøllur
14 November 2024 2024–25 Nations League North Macedonia  v  Latvia North Macedonia
20:45 UTC+1 Stadium: TBD
17 November 2024 2024–25 Nations League Latvia  v  Armenia Latvia
16:00 UTC+2 Stadium: TBD

Coaching staff

As of 5 March 2024.
More information Position, Name ...

Manager statistics

More information Team, From ...

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Cyprus and Liechtenstein on 21 and 26 March 2024, respectively.[23]

Caps and goals as of 26 March 2024, after the match against Liechtenstein.[24]

More information No., Pos. ...

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the last twelve months.

More information Pos., Player ...

Player records

As of 21 November 2023.[25]
Players in bold are still active with Latvia.

Most appearances

Vitālijs Astafjevs is Latvia's most capped player with 167 appearances.
More information Rank, Player ...

Top goalscorers

Māris Verpakovskis is Latvia's top scorer with 29 goals.
More information Rank, Player ...

Hat-tricks

More information Player, Competition ...
  • 4 Player scored 4 goals

Clean sheets

More information Rank, Player ...

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

More information FIFA World Cup record, Qualification record ...

UEFA European Championship

Main article: Latvia at the UEFA European Championship
More information UEFA European Championship record, Qualifying record ...

UEFA Nations League

More information UEFA Nations League record, Season ...

Baltic Cup

More information Baltic Cup record, Year ...

Olympic Games

More information Olympic Games record, Year ...

Head-to-head record

As of November 21 2023 after match against  Poland.[26]

More information Opponent, Pld ...
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Honours

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Krīgers, Renārs. "Jauna identitāte". www.lff.lv. LFF. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  2. [2]
    "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  3. [3]
    "Latvian national team history". Latvian Football Federation. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  4. [4]
    "1922–1940. gads (99 spēles)". Latvian Football Federation (in Latvian). Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  5. [5]
    "World Cup 1938 – Qualifying". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  6. [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. [7]
    "1992. gads". Latvian Football Federation (in Latvian). Archived from the original on 30 December 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  8. [8]
    "How they qualified: Latvia". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 21 May 2004. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  9. [9]
    "Verpakovskis sparks Latvian joy". Unions of European Football Associations. 16 November 2003. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  10. [10]
    "Joyful Latvia make history". Unions of European Football Associations. 20 November 2003. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  11. [11]
    "Latvia claim historic win". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 November 2003. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  12. [12]
    "Euro 2004 draw". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  13. [13]
    "Czech Rep 2–1 Latvia". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 15 June 2004. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  14. [14]
    "Latvia 0–0 Germany". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 June 2004. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  15. [15]
    "Holland 3–0 Latvia". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 23 June 2004. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  16. [16]
    "Group D". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 May 2004. Archived from the original on 11 June 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  17. [17]
    "Vilks - Latvijas futbola izlases jaunā identitāte" [Wolf - the new identity of the Latvian national football team]. TVNET (in Latvian). 18 July 2018. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  18. [18]
    "All Media Baltics pārraidīs visas Latvijas izlases spēles". LFF.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  19. [19]
    Eliņš, Rolands (20 July 2023). "Futbola izlases, NHL un F1 raidtiesību īpašniece "Viaplay" atstās Baltijas valstu tirgu". Sportacentrs.com. Sportacentrs. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  20. [20]
    "Straumēšanas pakalpojumu sniedzējs 'Viaplay' aiziet no Baltijas tirgus". Delfi.lv. LETA. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  21. [21]
    ""Viaplay" un TV3 grupas noslēdz vienošanos Baltijas valstīs". LFF.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  22. [22]
    "Oficiāli: Par Latvijas izlases nākamo treneri kļūst itālis Nikolato". 5 February 2024.
  23. [23]
    "GUTKOVSKIS UN VĒL ČETRI ATGRIEŽAS LATVIJAS IZLASĒ". lff.lv. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  24. [24]
    "Most Latvia Caps - EU-Football.info". eu-football.info. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  25. [25]
    "Latvia". National Football Teams.
  26. [26]
    "World Football Elo Ratings: Latvia". Elo Ratings. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
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