Daniels Ontužāns | Photo: LFF
Midfielder Daniels Ontužāns will not help the Latvian men’s football team in the upcoming matches in November due to injury, reports the Latvian Football Federation (LFF). Renārs Varslavāns, who became the Latvian champion in the RFS on Saturday, was invited to the national team instead of Ontužāns, the midfielder of the German third league team “Freiburg II”. Nick Dusalijev, the midfielder of “Valmiera”, has been invited to the U21 national team instead of Varslavāns.
The final games of the 2022 World Cup qualifying cycle will have to do without goalkeeper Pavel Steinbor. Also, Krister Tobera, the midfielder who has been treating injuries for a long time, is not among the invited players, as well as Jānis Ikaunieks, who has only recently returned to the pitch in the club ranks, has not been called. Latvian footballers will end the qualifying cycle with two away games on November 13 in Norway and November 16 in Gibraltar.
In Group G, after eight games, the first place with 19 points is taken by the Netherlands, the second with 17 points is Norway, 15 points are for Turkey, 11 points are scored by Montenegro, five points are scored by Latvia, but Gibraltar is still in the beige. In the European area, the samples are divided into ten subgroups, five for five samples and five for six samples. Ten group winners will qualify for the World Cup final, but ten runners-up and two top UEFA Nations League teams will compete in the playoffs.
In the elimination tournament, 12 teams will be divided into three “play-off” branches, where in March 2022 three more participants of the final tournament will be determined. The final of the World Cup will take place in Qatar, and due to the hot weather, the tournament will be played in the winter from November 21 to December 18. In 2022, Qatar will host the last World Cup final tournament with 32 teams. The 2026 tournament, hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, will feature 48 national teams.
Composition of the Latvian national team for the November 2022 PK qualifiers:
goalkeepers – Roberts Ozols (“Riga”), Rihards Matrevics (“Valmiera”), Krišjānis Zviedris (“Liepāja”);
protectors – Anthony Chernomordy, Vladislav Fyodorov (both “Riga”), Marcis Osh (“Stade Lausanne Ouchy”, Switzerland), Kaspars Dubra (“Oleksandrija”, Ukraine), Igors Tarasov (Ahnas “Ethnikos”, Cyprus), Elvis Stuglis , Roberts Savaļnieks, Vladislavs Sorokins (all – RFS), Raivis Andris Jurkovskis (“Dundalk”, Ireland);
midfielders – Artūrs Zjuzins, Renārs Varslavāns (both – RFS), Andrejs Cigaņiks (Dunajska Stredas “DAC 1904”, Slovakia), Eduards Emsis (Yerevan “Noah”, Armenia), Alvis Jaunzems (“Valmiera”), Krišs Kārkliņš, Mārtiņš (both – “Liepāja”), Vladimirs Kamešs, Aleksejs Savļjevs (both – “Riga”);
attackers – Vladislav Gutkowski (Czestochowa’s Rakow, Poland), Robert Uldrik (Cambuur, Leivarden, The Netherlands), Raimonds Krollis (Valmiera).
