Latvia on the up as Georgia head for Riga

The balance of footballing power seems to have shifted between Latvia and Georgia since their first post-independence campaigns as the teams prepare to meet again in UEFA EURO 2012 Group F.

Match background
• Latvia's record in five games against Georgia reads W2 D1 L2 (W1 D0 L1 at home).

• The section rivals first played each other in Riga on 26 June 1994, when Georgia won their friendly encounter 3-1. They met again in a friendly tournament in Malta on 6 February 1998, with Georgia prevailing 2-1 this time. However, they have not beaten Latvia since.

• The sides were pooled together in UEFA EURO 2000 qualifying and contested their first competitive fixture in Riga on 10 October 1998 – 12 years and two days before their upcoming encounter. Andrejs Štolcers scored the only goal of the game for Latvia, who were led by a Georgian coach, Revaz Dzodzuashvili.

• Dzodzuashvili had been replaced by Gary Johnson by the time the teams met again in Tbilisi. Efforts from Shota Arveladze and Mikheil Kavelashvili put Georgia in a strong position, but Imants Bleidelis then responded before Igors Stepanovs made it 2-2 at the end.

• The sides have met only once since, with Latvia winning a 6 February 2008 friendly game 3-1 in Tbilisi.

• More recently, Latvia's SK Liepājas Metalurgs tackled Georgia's FC Dinamo Tbilisi in the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round. Metalurgs won 2-1 at home but lost the tie following a 3-1 reverse in Tblisi.