While Latvia are coming into the opening fixture of their World Cup 2026 qualification campaign clear favourites, it would be a mistake to expect Andorra to be a walk in the garden for the Baltic nation.
The World Cup 2026 Qualification is finally here and Latvia are starting their campaign with games against Andorra and England. Of these two, Andorra – a small mountainous nation sandwiched between France and Spain, is the one where Latvia are expected to win their first three points of the cycle.
That being said, Andorra are going to be a stubborn opponent and last time the two nations met on the football pitch in 2022, the outcome was a 1-1 draw. The overall record of matches between the two teams also favours Latvia heavily. Of 11 previous matches, Latvia won 7 and there were 4 draws; no wins for Andorra.
Paolo Nicolato’s men will not be up to full strength for these upcoming two matches. FK Auda star midfielder Renārs Varslavāns, Arminia Bielefeld striker Roberts Uldriķis and Aberdeen FC defender and national team captain Kristers Tobers are all unavailable due to injuries. This will certainly cause the coaching staff unpleasant headache, as each is a key player in their own line and would, otherwise, be expected to take to the pitch in the starting XI. On the bright side, Dario Šits is back from suffering a fractured foot at the end of last year and, while lacking match practice, already scored a goal for his Dutch second-tier club Helmond Sport before getting called up for national duty.
In terms of Andorra, all eyes will be on their star Goalkeeper Iker Álvarez, who plays for Villareal’s second team in Spain. Most of the rest of the squad play in lower Spanish or German divisions but there are also some domestic players that will be familiar to those Latvians who are representing FC RFS. Centre-back Christian Garcia, left-back Dacu and right-back Jesús Rubio have all played for UE Santa Coloma against Latvian Champions in the Third Qualification round of the Europa league. Ikaunieks and Savaļnieks, both of whom are likely to start today, will have already met these three recently.
Looking ahead to the outcome of the game, Latvia will be left frustrated with anything less than three points. Paolo Nicolato, for whom this World Cup qualification cycle will be the first real test of his work since taking over the national team last year, however, insists that the most important thing is to keep improving as a team and as individual players, especially in terms of mindset, aggression and character.
Latvia will play Andorra at 21:45 Riga time at Estadi Nacional d’Andorra. The match will be broadcasted domestically on LTV7.