Sunderland Defender Dennis Cirkin Chooses Latvia National Team

Sunderland defender Dennis Cirkin has been called up to the Latvia national team. However, at the moment, the player is not yet eligible to play due to the ongoing procedure for changing his sporting nationality.

Despite this, the Ireland-born player has agreed to participate in the team’s March training camp. It is expected that all legal formalities will be completed soon, allowing Cirkin to make his debut for the national team in official matches.

He is expected to complete the sporting nationality change in time for the matches against Armenia in the Nations League—provided that Latvia defeats Gibraltar in the March play-off.

It is worth noting that Cirkin’s parents are from Latvia. His father has Turkish-Azerbaijani roots, which previously linked the player to the Azerbaijan national team. Nevertheless, he has chosen to represent Latvia at the international level.

The Latvian Football Federation commented on the situation as follows:

“Although Dennis Cirkins accepted the invitation to Latvia’s March training camp, legal formalities currently prevent him from debuting for the national team.”

The 23-year-old full-back has represented England at youth levels and was also considered a candidate for the Ireland national team. He has played 125 club matches, scoring 8 goals and providing 7 assists.

Latvia and Gibraltar will face off in the Nations League play-off for a spot in League C. The winner will join Group C2, which already includes Armenia, Montenegro, and Cyprus.