Latvia beats Poland to go top

Latvia upset Poland to highlight a weekend of Euro 2004 soccer in the Baltics that also included wins by Lithuania and Estonia.

Latvia shot to the top of Group Four Oct. 12 with a surprise 1-0 win at Poland.

Latvia's Juris Laizans blasted the game winner past Liverpool goalie Jerzy Dudek from 20 meters away in the 30th minute.

"If you were surprised with the score, don't be because the level of football in Europe is equal," Latvia's coach Aleksanders Starkovs told reporters after the match.

Poland's coach Zbigniew Boniek had a slightly different take on his team's loss.

"I never in my worst nightmares expected to lose this match," he said.

Poland is currently 35th in FIFA rankings. Latvia is 97th.

Latvia stands with four points in the group with the win and a tie last month at home against regional powerhouse Sweden.

Hungary and San Marino round out the group.

Latvia travels to San Marino on Nov. 20. Latvia only managed a tie against San Marino at home during World Cup 2002 qualification play last year.

Lithuania got its first points of its Euro 2004 campaign on Oct.12 with a 2-0 win against the Faroe Islands in Kaunas.

Tomas Razanauskas and Robertas Poskus scored for Lithuania.

Lithuania, which lost 2-0 to the Germans last month, was second in Group Five behind Germany and Scotland.

Lithuania played Iceland, the final team in the group, on Oct. 16.

The score was not available in time for this issue.

Estonia gathered some confidence with a 3-2 win against New Zealand in a friendly Oct. 12.

Estonia played Belgium Oct. 16. That score also was not available at press time.

Estonia picked up one point in Group Eight with a 0-0 tie against Croatia last month.

Bulgaria and Andorra round out that group.