Latvia announces men's volleyball squad for European Championship
Head coach Uģis Krastiņš has named the 14-player squad for Latvia's men's volleyball team ahead of the European Championship, which the team departed for on Monday. The tournament runs September 9-26 across four countries.
Latvia's men's national volleyball team has finalized its roster for the 2026 European Championship. Middle blocker Kristaps Pelēkais was the last player cut from the squad. The team departed for Romania on Monday afternoon.
Head coach Uģis Krastiņš, who will lead the national team at a major tournament for the first time, praised the squad's progress during preparation at a press conference, particularly highlighting the development of young players in the second lineup.
Preparation matches
Ahead of the championship, Latvia played two friendly matches against Denmark in Riga, ending 1-3 and 2-2. At a warm-up tournament in Tallinn over the weekend, Latvia lost to Ukraine (1-3) and Estonia (2-3), but defeated Slovakia (3-2), finishing third overall in that tournament.
Third championship appearance
This will mark Latvia's third appearance at the European Championship final tournament. In 2021, the team advanced out of the group stage and finished 16th.
The European Championship will take place from September 9-26 across four countries — Bulgaria, Romania, Finland and Italy. Latvia will play its group stage matches in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, facing the national teams of Romania, Germany, France, Switzerland and Turkey. The top four teams from each group will advance to the round of 16, held in Turin and Sofia, while the medals will be decided in Milan.
Assisting head coach Krastiņš are coach Mārcis Obrumans, statistician Aivis Kokins and physical preparation coach Artūrs Tinte.
The squad includes setters Edvīns Skrūders and Markuss Vensbergs; middle blockers Kristaps Šmits, Jānis Eduards Medenis, Armands Rokjāns and Tomass Silavs; middle blockers Gustavs Freimanis, Eduards Dūdens and Jēkabs Dzenis; opposite hitters Renārs Pauls Jansons, Kristers Dardzāns and Kristers Landzāns; and liberos Kaspars Kronbergs and Artūrs Gulovs.
