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(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | St Johnstone | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| 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 | 7 | (1) |
| 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, correct as of 11 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 November 2024 | |||
Daniels Balodis (born 10 June 1998) is a Latvian footballer who plays as a defender for St Johnstone and the Latvia national team.
Club career
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]- 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
[edit]International
[edit]| Latvia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 |
| 2023 | 5 | 1 |
| Total | 10 | 1 |
References
[edit]- ^ 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
[edit]- [1] at LFF.lv