Euro 2008/Northern Ireland v Latvia: The search for balance is a constant for any manager. So, although Lawrie Sanchez said he considered it a realistic ambition for Northern Ireland to surpass their southern neighbours in Fifa's ranking system, he stressed that Latvia, tonight's visitors to Windsor Park, must be treated with respect.

It is all well and thrilling for Northern Ireland to beat England and Spain, but victory over a country of comparable status would, Sanchez said, be more "credible".

The Northern Irish are buoyant after their past two results, a 3-2 win against Spain and the 0-0 draw against Denmark in Copenhagen last Saturday night. But the memory of the group opener, a 3-0 home defeat by Iceland, is sufficiently fresh to restrain those in danger of getting carried away.

The players left Copenhagen whispering that they might just have a chance of qualifying from a cryptic group, but Latvia are sure to play a part in the puzzle. They have, after all, achieved something Northern Ireland have never been able to - reach a European Championship finals.

That it was the last one in Portugal is pertinent, as is the fact eight of the Latvian side who participated in Saturday's 4-0 defeat of Iceland in Riga played some role in their 0-0 draw with Germany in Oporto during Euro 2004. They have continuity and experience.

"Latvia, like Iceland, are like us," Sanchez said. "They are well capable of beating us just as we are well capable of beating them. I've seen their previous game against Sweden and they were very unlucky to be beaten. It was a very open game."

Currently ranked 43rd and 58th in the Fifa world rankings, Sanchez recalled speaking to Brian Kerr, then manager of a Republic of Ireland side ranked 15th in the world when Northern Ireland were 124th. "In the course of my time in charge, if we could go above the Republic it would be an amazing achievement."