Lithuania's national men's futsal team is on the road to the World Cup, where they face another team that participated in the world futsal championship held in our country a year and a half ago.
It is worth noting that in the knockout stage of the 2024 World Cup qualifiers, the Czechs were no match for us as they lost 2-5 in the first match on Friday. The second match will be played tomorrow at the Kėdainiai Arena. The match starts at 19:00, you can buy tickets by clicking here.
There has been one change in the lineup of the Lithuanian team before Tuesday's match - Gustas Zenkovas will be registered instead of Jonas Ulberkis for these games.
Before the Tuesday match, let's remember the Czech Republic's journey in the 2021 World Cup.
After the draw, it became clear that the Czech team would compete in Group D and would face Panama, Vietnam, and one of the championship favorites - Brazil's footballers.
According to the tournament rules, the first two teams from each group and the best four third-placed teams advanced to the next stage, so the Czechs' chances looked good before the start.
In the first match in Klaipėda, the Czech team took a significant step towards the knockout stage, crushing Panama's footballers 5-1.
Michal Seidler even scored three goals in that match, including one against the Lithuanian team on Friday.
Afterwards, in the same Klaipėda arena, the Czechs faced the Brazilians. The Czech representatives put up a good fight in the first half - the scoreboard showed zeros after it. However, after the break, Brazil stepped up a gear and settled all matters in a short period - between the 23rd and 26th minute, they scored three goals and added another in the last minute, winning the match against the Czechs 4-0.
In the final group stage match, the Czech team faced a challenge at the Kaunas Arena against the Vietnam team. A loss for both teams would have complicated their chances of advancing, so the match was quite cautious.
For a long time, there were no goals, but then, towards the end of the second half, Vietnam unexpectedly took the lead. However, they did not enjoy the advantage for long, as the Czechs equalized the score a minute later, and the final whistle confirmed a 1-1 draw. It turned out to be enough for both teams, who advanced to the next stage.
The Czechs finished second in the group, while Vietnam also advanced as one of the best third-placed teams.
The draw was not kind to the Czechs - in the quarter-finals, they had to face the former European and world champions, the Spaniards. The Czechs failed to cause sensations here - they were already trailing 0-4 in the first half and managed to get closer to 2-4 after the break, but a fifth goal by the Czechs in the final minutes dashed their hopes. Ultimately, the Czechs finished in 11th place.
By reaching the quarter-finals, the Czechs repeated their best-ever performance - they had also reached this stage in the 2012 championship.
So, the Czech national team returns to Lithuania hoping to finish the job they started and advance to the elite qualifying round, but the Lithuanians will try to bring back tension and give fans even more good emotions.
