Daniels Balodis
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniels Balodis | ||
| Date of birth | 10 June 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Riga, Latvia | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Tatran Prešov | ||
| Number | 21 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Skonto FC | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016-2017 | Skonto FC | ||
| 2018 | FK RFS | 2 | (0) |
| 2019 | → BFC Daugavpils (loan) | 27 | (2) |
| 2020 | → FK Jelgava | 7 | (0) |
| 2020–2024 | Valmiera | 118 | (6) |
| 2024–2025 | FK RFS | 10 | (0) |
| 2025 | St Johnstone | 13 | (2) |
| 2025– | Tatran Prešov | 13 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014 | Latvia U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Latvia U19 | 7 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Latvia U19 | 16 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Latvia U21 | 13 | (2) |
| 2022– | Latvia | 15 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 January 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 27 November 2024 | |||
Daniels Balodis (born 10 June 1998) is a Latvian footballer who plays as a defender for FC Tatran Prešov and the Latvia national team.
Club career
At the age of 20 years-old, Balodis made his debut in the Virsliga for RFS. However, after only making two league appearances he continued his career at Daugavpils and then FK Jelgava.[1]
He won the Latvian championship with Valmiera FC in the 2022 season, having joined the club in 2020. On 4 July 2024, Balodis was announced as returning to RFS, signing for an undisclosed fee.[1] Just 6 days later, on 10 July 2024, Balodis scored a header against Larne of Northern Ireland in a 3–0 home victory in the first qualifying round of the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League.[2] On 30 October 2024, he scored a late equaliser as RFS came back from 2–0 down in the final of the Latvian Cup against FK Auda to take the match to extra time, and eventually win the title.[3]
He signed for Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone on 28 January 2025 on an 18-month contract.[4] He made his debut for St Johnstone on 8 February 2025 in the Scottish Cup in a 1–0 home win against Hamilton Academical.[5] He made his Scottish Premiership debut the following week away against Kilmarnock.[6] On 6 April 2025, he scored the only goal of the game with a fourth-minute header from a Graham Carey free-kick as St Johnstone inflicted a surprise 1–0 defeat against runaway leaders Celtic who had been looking for a win to secure the Scottish league title.[7]
International career
Balodis made his international debut for Latvia on 16 November 2022 in the 2022 Baltic Cup against Estonia.[8] He scored his first international goal for Latvia on 12 October 2023 in a 2–0 home win against Armenia in a qualifying match for the 2024 UEFA European Championship.[9]
International goal
- Scores and results list Latvia's goal tally first.[10]
| No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 12 October 2023 | Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia | Armenia | 2–0 | 2–0 | Euro 2024 qualifier |
Career statistics
International
| Latvia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 |
| 2023 | 5 | 1 |
| Total | 10 | 1 |
References
- ^ a b "D. Balodis Atgriežas RFS". fkrfs.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ "Larne fell 3-0 away to Latvian champions RFS in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League first qualifying round tie". bbc.com. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ Nicolson, Eric (18 April 2025). "St Johnstone defender Daniels Balodis has been a man for the big occasion". The Courier. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
- ^ "Saints sign Latvian defender Balodis". BBC Sport. 28 January 2025. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
- ^ "ST. JOHNSTONE VS. HAMILTON ACADEMICAL 1 - 0". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
- ^ Nicolson, Eric (6 March 2025). "Simo Valakari reveals St Johnstone defender Daniels Balodis has caught eye of Latvia manager". The Courier. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
- ^ "St Johnstone 1-0 Celtic: Daniels Balodis scores winner to delay Scottish Premiership title party". Sky Sports. 6 April 2025. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
- ^ "Latvia v Estonia match sheet – LFF.lv". LFF.lv. LFF. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
- ^ "LATVIA VS. ARMENIA 2 – 0". Soccerway. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ Ārmanis, Toms (12 October 2023). "Ikaunieks un Balodis iesit, Latvija svin pirmo uzvaru" (in Latvian). lff.lv. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
External links
- [1] at LFF.lv