The GB senior men’s team face off against Latvia on the 7th January 2026, at the David Ross Sports Centre in Nottingham.
The squad has been picked, and Head coach Ricardo Vasconcelos hopes that the hard work and effort that they have put in between their last games against Kosovo.
GB are ranked in 41st below Latvia in the EHL (European Handball League). Latvia currently sits in 36th place. When asked about playing a higher-ranked team in the EHL, Vasconcelos states that he is focusing more on the process compared to the outcome.
“Understanding where they are and where we are, understanding that is part of our development, and playing more games against teams like this will expose us a little bit more, but will also force us to improve, and make us improve, because it promotes a reflection process that will support our next process.”
With this game being part of the qualifiers for the Euros in 2028, it is on the mind of many players and the team. However, team captain Oli Tyler hopes that the previous game against Kosovo will help the team learn, along with this game against Latvia. “I think that for us, in our context, we are continually working to make that next step is, to qualify for the next stage of promotion rounds. And this is what we have a chance to do against Latvia, and that is absolutely our aim.
Tyler went on to say, “We’re going into this with the headspace of we’re going to do everything we can to walk away with the win. It would mean so much to the team. It would be the next step in, hopefully, a longer context of continual progress.”
The first leg of the double header with Latvia will be played on home soil, giving GB a small advantage going into the first game. Tyler states, “It’s always amazing to play at home, especially when we’ve had it in the past. The crowd has always been incredible, and that feeling you get when you walk out and hear the cheer, and when you score a goal, and when we have a good defence, and you hear the crowd is really behind you.”
“It’s really hard to explain what that does for the team, and so definitely gives us an edge, playing at home first, playing in front of the crowd that we know will get behind us, and we know will be a really good turnout.”
With the game against Latvia being a big one, and with a potential win in sight. Head Coach Vasconcelos talks about the process and how they should focus on it more than the outcome of the game.
“I think this is focusing on process more than on the outcome, which is key. Understanding where they are and where we are, understanding that this is part of our development, and playing more games against teams like this will expose us a little bit more, but will also force us to improve, and make us improve, because it promotes a reflection process that will support our next activities.”
GB are hoping to secure the win at Nottingham but are not getting ahead of themselves. What they care about is how they perform and improving on their performance throughout games, to hopefully bring up their ranking levels, as well as the quality of game play.
After the 7th January in Nottingham, their second leg of the double header is in Latvia on the 11th January 2026.
Throw off in Nottingham is 17:00pm on the 7th January 2026.
