When is nothing worth something? When you’re the Latvian football (soccer) team and you hold the German national team to a 0-0 tie in the Euro 2004 championship in Portugal.

Latvia earned its first point in the standings June 19 when it surprised Germany by keeping it scoreless in a game that many figured Germany would easily win. In Euro 2004 group play, a win is worth three points, while a draw is worth one. Both Latvia and Germany walked away from their match with one point.

Even though Germany outshot Latvia 22-5 and had control of the ball for 65 percent of the game, the Latvian defense didn’t give in. On the offensive, Latvian forward Māris Verpakovskis had his team’s best shot at the goal near the end of the first half, but German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn stopped it, according to the Euro 2004 official Web site.

Latvia’s ambassador to Germany, Mārtiņš Virsis, before the game offered honorary citizenship to the German goalkeeper Kahn, according to the German tabloid Bild. All he had to do was let the ball get past him. Kahn, it turns out, has family ties to Latvia: his paternal grandmother was Latvian and his father was born in Latvia.

In Group D, the Czech Republic already is guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals. Latvia next faces the Netherlands in a June 23 match in Braga Municipal Stadium in Braga, Portugal. Germany, meanwhile, faces the Czech Republic in Lisbon.

A victory over the Netherlands would send Latvia to the quarterfinals—unless the second-place Germans defeat the Czechs.

A new Web site detailing the history and revival of Latvia’s Jewish community has been unveiled. Development of the site, which went online June 16, was supported by the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Jewish community of Latvia and the U.S. Embassy in Rīga.

The site, “Latvijas ebreju kopiena” (Latvia’s Jewish Community) is presented in English and Latvian and may be found at two addresses, www.jews.lv and www.ebreji.lv. It is divided into five main sections: news, research, education, memory and cities. The memory section includes images from a traveling exhibit, “Jewish Community of Latvia: History, Tragedy, Revival,” that has been shown in a number of cities around the country.

During World War II, thousands of Jews were executed in Latvia, including more than 26,000 from the Rīga ghetto in 1941.

In the near future, according to a press release from the foreign affairs ministry, the site will be expanded with information about Jewish communities in various Latvian cities.

The site was created by Vide Infra Grupa of Rīga, a Web design firm started in 1998. Among its other recent projects was redesign of the Web site for the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Maybe Latvia should just avoid the Czech Republic in athletic contests. Two months ago, the Czechs beat Latvia in the world ice hockey championship. And now, in Latvia’s first-ever match in a European football (soccer) championship, the Czechs have done it again.

The Czech Republic beat Latvia 2-1 in a June 15 game played in Averio, Portugal, as part of the 16-team Euro 2004 football championship.

Latvia may have been a long shot going into the Euro 2004 football (soccer) championship, but by the start of the tournament plenty of observers were being careful to not ignore the first-time contenders. Call it the jinx factor.

Latvia surprised the Czechs just as the first half was coming to an end, when forward Māris Verkapovskis picked up a pass from Andrejs Prohorenkovs to score the country’s only goal, according to the official Euro 2004 Web site.

But the Czechs came back 28 minutes into the second half, when Milan Baroš got the ball past Latvian goalkeeper Aleksandrs Koliņko, and then again 12 minutes later on a kick from Marek Heinz.

The Czechs outshot Latvia 28-7, according to game statistics, while the Latvian committed 20 fouls to the Czechs’ 11. The Czechs controlled the ball for 64 percent of the game.

Latvia’s next game in Group D preliminary competition is June 19. Latvia plays Germany in a game beginning at 17:00 local time in Besso stadium in Porto. Latvia’s last preliminary match is June 23 against the Netherlands in a game starting at 19:45 local time in Braga Municipal stadium in Braga.