Cirkins among six uncapped players as Latvia name squad for Nations League start

Latvia head coach Paolo Nicolato has named a 26-man squad for the start of the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League campaign, with six uncapped players included for the four-match international window across September and October.

Among the most notable names is Queens Park Rangers defender Denniss Cirkins. The 24-year-old was born in Ireland but independently obtained Latvian citizenship several years ago and has now been selected for his first full senior national team camp. Cirkins had previously spent several days training with Nicolato’s squad during Latvia’s March camp in Spain, but has yet to make his international debut.

Cirkins is one of six players in the squad without a senior Latvia appearance. The others are FK Auda defender Oskars Rubenis, Teplice defender Oskars Vientiess, Liepāja midfielder Danila Patijčuks, Bohemian midfielder Markuss Strods and IFK Norrköping forward Alberts Aleksanjans.

For four of them, Cirkins, Rubenis, Strods and Aleksanjans, this will be their first full senior national team camp. Strods was due to receive his first senior call-up, but an injury forced him to withdraw before joining the team. Aleksanjans, another member of the U21 setup, has earned his opportunity while playing in Sweden with IFK Norrköping.

Nicolato has otherwise retained a considerable amount of experience. Roberts Savaļnieks, Andrejs Cigaņiks and Jānis Ikaunieks have all passed 70 senior caps, meanwhile Rihards Matrevics, Nils Toms Puriņš and Frenks Dāvids Orols are the three goalkeepers selected.

The squad also has a strong domestic presence. Fourteen of the 26 players are currently based in Latvia, including four each from RFS and Auda, three from Riga FC and one each from Super Nova, Jelgava and Liepāja. The remaining 12 players are based abroad across ten different countries.

Scotland, Sweden and the Czech Republic each provide one Latvia international, with Meļņiks at Falkirk, Aleksanjans at Norrköping and Vientiess at Teplice. There is also one player each based in England, Switzerland, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Georgia, Poland and the Netherlands, while Ireland is represented by Strods at Bohemian.

Latvia begin their Nations League campaign away against Armenia on September 25 before returning to Rīga to face Cyprus at Skonto Stadium three days later. Montenegro then visit the same venue on October 2, with the international window concluding away against Cyprus on October 5.

The national team will gather on September 20 and spend the opening days of the camp in Latvia before travelling to Armenia for the first of four matches in just 11 days.