Latvia national football team


The Latvia national football team 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, however, they qualified 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 is the current champion, having won the tournament in 2018. Latvia has won the Baltic Cup championship a record 13 times, more than any other country in the history of the tournament.
Latvia's current home ground is the Daugava Stadium in Riga.

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 played 99 official games during its pre-war period from 1922 to 1940.
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. Latvia beat Lithuania 4–2 in Riga, after a Fricis Kaņeps hat-trick and an Iļja Vestermans goal. In Kaunas, they won 5–1, after two goals each from Kaņeps, Vaclavs Borduško, and Vestermans, but lost 1–2 in the decisive away match against Austria, despite an early goal from Vestermans. In April 1938, the Austrian Anschluss relegated the Austrian team, however, Latvia was not invited to the tournament by FIFA as the group's runner-up.
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.
In September 2003, Latvia surprisingly finished second, ahead of Poland, in their qualifying group for Euro 2004. 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. The second leg finished in a 2–2 draw, with Latvia winning 3–2 on aggregate, thus qualifying for the tournament. This resulted in Latvia being the first and only Baltic team qualifying for a European Championship. At Euro 2004, Latvia were drawn in Group D, alongside Germany, Czech Republic, and Netherlands. Latvia faced Czech Republic in their opening match on 15 June 2004, with Verpakovskis scoring before half-time. However, the Czechs would later come back to win the game 2–1. Four days later, Latvia earned a respectable 0–0 draw against Germany to earn their first point in a major tournament. They lost their final match with 3–0 against Netherlands, and were eliminated, finishing fourth, with one point from their draw and two losses.
Latvia have since failed to qualify for another major tournament, though 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.

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.
Last updated: Latvia v. Azerbaijan, June 8, 2018.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup record

UEFA European Championship record

Baltic Cup Championship record

13-time winners – 1928, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018

Olympic Games record

All-time team record

As of 19 November 2019 after match against
OpponentPldWD *LGFGAGD
5050660
7520141+13
1010110
211020+2
9216924−15
403135−2
1010220
6114713−6
200217−6
110021+1
200219−8
100103−3
300306−6
100101−1
4004110−9
200203−3
5014413−9
401317−6
592821109360+33
1743101832−14
302113−2
100107−7
103251018−8
301216−5
100101−1
210151+4
8125613−7
100112−1
7106716−9
622211110
8116618−12
201125−3
724175+2
100134−1
100102−2
9711154+11
5528121511676+40
7610204+16
530273+4
320165+1
100102−2
3003011−11
211032+1
300327−5
720548−4
210143+1
100123−1
1522111540−25
6006418−14
100113−2
5005114−13
501409−9
401327−5
431061+5
100102–2
400417−6
503259−4
510429−7
200202−2
401309−9
1724111254−42
501439−6
1010110
100103−3
6141910−1
301213−2
100101−1
100103−3
100102−2
Total39211291189467660−193

Results and fixtures

Recent and forthcoming matches

Coaching staff

List of managers

;Head coaches
played for Latvia more than anyone else, with 167 caps from 1992 to 2010. He also held the European record for 7 years for most matches played for the national team from 2009 until March 2017, when his record was beaten by Gianluigi Buffon. Astafjevs has netted 16 times. Andris Vaņins is the most capped active player for Latvia with 100 appearances, as of November 2019. Māris Verpakovskis is the nation's top goalscorer with 29 goals. Other high scorers include Ēriks Pētersons with 24 goals scored in the 1930s and Marians Pahars and Juris Laizāns, who both scored 15 goals each for Latvia.

Current squad

The following players have been called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Slovenia on 16 November 2019 and Austria on 19 November 2019.
''All caps and goals as of 19 November 2019 after the match against Austria.

Recent call-ups

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

Most capped players

#NameCareerCapsGoals
1.Vitālijs Astafjevs1992–201016716
2.Andrejs Rubins1998–20111179
3.Juris Laizāns1998–201311315
4.Imants Bleidelis1995–200710610
5.Mihails Zemļinskis1992–200510512
6.Māris Verpakovskis1999–201410429
7.Igors Stepanovs1995–20111004
7.Andris Vaņins2000–present1000
9.Aleksandrs Koļinko1997–2015940
10.Kaspars Gorkšs2005–2017895
11.Andrejs Štolcers1994–2005817
11.Aleksejs Višņakovs2004–present819
13.Marians Pahars1996–20077515
14.Vīts Rimkus1995–20087311
15Oļegs Blagonadeždins1992–2004702
16.Valērijs Ivanovs1992–2001691
17.Dzintars Zirnis1997–2010670
18.Oskars Kļava2005–2013651
19.Ēriks Pētersons1929–19396324
20.Deniss Ivanovs2003–2013602

Top goalscorers

#PlayerCareerGoals
1.Māris Verpakovskis1999–201429
2.Ēriks Pētersons1929–193924
3.Vitālijs Astafjevs1992–201016
4.Marians Pahars1996–200715
4.Juris Laizāns1998–201315
6.Alberts Šeibelis1925–193914
7.Iļja Vestermans1935–193813
8.Aleksandrs Cauņa2007–201512
8.Valērijs Šabala2013–present12
8.Mihails Zemļinskis1992–200512
11.Vīts Rimkus1995–200811
12.Arnolds Tauriņš1925–193510
12.Imants Bleidelis1995–200710
14.Ādolfs Sīmanis1932–19409
14.Voldemārs Plade1923–19299
14.Aleksandrs Vanags1937–19409
14.Ģirts Karlsons2003–20179
14.Aleksejs Višņakovs2004–present9
14.Andrejs Rubins1998–20119
20.Vaclavs Borduško1934–19398
20.Arkādijs Pavlovs1924–19338

Hat-tricks