Laizans falls victim to 'Iron' man

Latvia have a new fitness concern after a collision in training left midfield player Jurijs Laizans nursing a back injury.

Stepanovs returns
After welcoming central defender Igors Stepanovs back to full fitness following a minor injury, coach Aleksandr Starkovs saw Laizans collide with defender Arturs Zakresevskis and miss the rest of training. "Our 'Iron' Artur overdid it," Laizans said. "I have a slight knock in the back. It aches a lot now, but I don't think it's serious."

Starkovs happy
Even with these fitness concerns, Starkovs is enjoying every minute so far. "I can't wait for our first game," he said. "I still think it's a miracle that Latvia are playing at [UEFA] EURO 2004 ™, but we want to realise the expectations of both our own supporters and the Portuguese fans who have been so warm to us."

Example to follow
Starkovs was a keen observer during yesterday's opening match at the Estádio do Dragão, where Greece surprised the hosts Portugal. "Greece proved that nothing is impossible at this tournament but I wouldn’t say their win was unexpected," the 48-year-old said. "The Greeks have tournament experience while for us it's all new."