Latvia national football team

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.

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 an 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 match against Austria, despite an early goal from Vestermans. In April 1938, the Austrian Anschluss relegated the Austrian team, however, Latvia was not invited by FIFA as the group's runner-up.

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.

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, as well as the country itself's first ever appearance in the tournament. At the 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, finished fourth, with one point from their draw and two losses. Before the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament, Latvia were the only team who qualified to the European Championship, but not to FIFA World Cup.

Baltic Cup Championship record

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

All-time team record

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

Players

Vitālijs Astafjevs has played for Latvia more than anyone else, with 167 caps from 1992 to 2010. He also held the European record for almost 7 years for most matches played for the national team since autumn 2009 until summer 2016 . Astafjevs has netted 16 times. Kaspars Gorkšs is the most capped active player for Latvia with 82 appearances, as of November, 2016. 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 have scored 15 goals each for Latvia.

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.

Recent call-ups

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

Most capped players

Top goalscorers

Hat-tricks

Kit suppliers

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