Changes have been made to the Latvia national team squad after FK Liepāja forward Bruno Melnis suffered a serious injury, with his club teammate Danila Patijčuks called up as a replacement.
The 22-year-old Melnis had only just returned to action in the 2026 Virslīga season, coming off the bench in yesterday’s match against Ogre United after being an unused substitute in the opening two rounds under head coach Andreas Alm. Despite limited minutes, he had been included in Latvia’s 27-man squad for the upcoming matches against Gibraltar, where Latvia will fight to remain in UEFA Nations League C.
Melnis entered the game in the 75th minute, but just five minutes later he suffered an injury during a non-contact episode, appearing to feel discomfort in his leg. Although he managed to finish the match, it was later confirmed that he will be unavailable for international duty.
Further medical updates revealed that Melnis has sustained a leg fracture, which will sideline him for at least several months.
Melnis made his senior Latvia debut last summer in a friendly against Azerbaijan and has since made four appearances under head coach Paolo Nicolato.
His replacement, Danila Patijčuks, also 22, received his first national team call-up in November last year but is still awaiting his debut.
Latvia head coach Paolo Nicolato has named a 27-player squad for the March training camp. Among notable returns, midfielder Eduards Emsis is back in the squad after a two-year absence, while striker Roberts Uldriķis returns after recovering from a long-term injury.
Meanwhile, Latvia will be without captain Kristers Tobers due to health reasons, and forward Raimonds Krollis is also unavailable for the same reason.
Latvia National Team – March 2026
Goalkeepers
- Rihards Matrevics (18 Mar 1999) – Dukla Praha (Czech Republic) – Caps: 15, Goals: 0
- Krišjānis Zviedris (25 Jan 1997) – Riga FC – Caps: 7, Goals: 0
- Frenks Dāvids Orols (28 Jun 2000) – Riga FC – Caps: 0, Goals: 0
Defenders
4. Roberts Savaļnieks (4 Feb 1993) – FC RFS – Caps: 72, Goals: 2
5. Andrejs Cigaņiks (12 Apr 1997) – FC Luzern (Switzerland) – Caps: 68, Goals: 4
6. Raivis Andris Jurkovskis (9 Dec 1996) – Riga FC – Caps: 58, Goals: 0
7. Antonijs Černomordijs (26 Sep 1996) – Riga FC – Caps: 45, Goals: 2
8. Vitālijs Jagodinskis (28 Feb 1992) – Visakha FC (Cambodia) – Caps: 39, Goals: 0
9. Daniels Balodis (10 Jun 1998) – Tatran Prešov (Slovakia) – Caps: 24, Goals: 1
10. Deniss Meļņiks (7 Sep 2002) – FK Auda – Caps: 10, Goals: 0
11. Roberts Veips (22 Feb 2000) – FC RFS – Caps: 4, Goals: 0
12. Emīls Birka (25 Apr 2000) – Riga FC – Caps: 1, Goals: 0
13. Niks Sliede (8 Mar 2004) – FC RFS – Caps: 1, Goals: 0
14. Denniss Cirkins (6 Apr 2002) – Sunderland AFC (England) – Caps: –, Goals: –
Midfielders
15. Jānis Ikaunieks (16 Feb 1995) – FC RFS – Caps: 72, Goals: 12
16. Aleksejs Saveļjevs (30 Jan 1999) – FK Asia Talas (Kyrgyzstan) – Caps: 35, Goals: 1
17. Eduards Emsis (23 Feb 1996) – SK Super Nova – Caps: 33, Goals: 2
18. Dmitrijs Zelenkovs (15 May 2000) – FC RFS – Caps: 22, Goals: 1
19. Renārs Varslavāns (23 Aug 2001) – Riga FC – Caps: 20, Goals: 1
20. Lūkass Vapne (31 Aug 2003) – Sogndal IL (Norway) – Caps: 16, Goals: 0
21. Danila Patijčuks (22 Mar 2003) – FK Liepāja – Caps: 0, Goals: 0
22. Kristers Penkevics (28 Jan 2003) – FC Zlín (Czech Republic) – Caps: 2, Goals: 0
23. Kristaps Grabovskis (14 Jun 2005) – B93 (Denmark) – Caps: 1, Goals: 0
Forwards
24. Vladislavs Gutkovskis (2 Apr 1995) – Arka Gdynia (Poland) – Caps: 59, Goals: 13
25. Roberts Uldriķis (3 Apr 1998) – Arminia Bielefeld (Germany) – Caps: 55, Goals: 8
26. Marko Regža (20 Jan 1999) – FC Hradec Králové (Czech Republic) – Caps: 16, Goals: 0
27. Dario Šits (4 Feb 2004) – Atlético Madrileño (Spain) – Caps: 8, Goals: 2
