Underdogs show their teeth

Higher goals
Indeed, while coach Aleksandrs Starkovs has hinted that they "are just happy to be here" in Portugal, the Latvians' goals are somewhat higher on the eve of their Group D match in Aveiro. "Only a draw or a win will be considered a good result for Latvia," Starkovs insisted.

'No longer outsiders'
"When you play for your national team, you play for your country and its flag," he continued. "Because of that, we can even make it out of the group. Latvia are not usually considered favourites, but if you look at our results in recent years, you realise that we are not outsiders but a team with character."

Kolinko worry
However, the coach has had to rush back first-choice goalkeeper Aleksandrs Kolinko after a knock that kept him out of recent training sessions. Starkovs considers the FC Rostov custodian a crucial figure behind his central defensive pairing of Igors Stepanovs and Mihails Zemlinskis. "Kolinko is not only a goalkeeper, but a defensive general - a person who dictates the back line", he explained.

Full-back options
Elsewhere in his team, Olegs Blagonadezdins is expected to beat Igors Korablovs to the left-back slot, while on the right Starkovs must choose between tough-tackling Dzintars Zirnis, the more attacking Aleksandrs Isakovs and versatile midfield player Jurijs Laizans.

Prohorenkovs chance
Valentins Lobanovs will anchor the midfield behind Vitalis Astafjevs, with Andrejs Rubins on the left and Imants Bleidelis fending off competition from Laizans on the right. Maris Verpakovskis is an automatic choice up front, and should be partnered by the strapping Andrejs Prohorenkovs rather than Marians Pahars.

'No injuries'
"There are no injuries in the squad - all 23 players are ready to do battle against the Czech Republic," Starkovs said. "I hope that Pahars will help the team too - he is not ready to play for 90 minutes but he can boost our attack coming from the bench."

Quiet confidence
Whatever the personnel, Latvia will likely need a performance equal to, or even surpassing, that of their play-off triumph against Turkey. "I will only be happy if we pick up points, which is our goal for the first game," Starkovs stressed.