E. Jankauskas: "National team players feel good and want to be here

2023-10-18 20:02 © lff.lt

Lithuanian footballers on Tuesday in Kaunas gave fans a great football celebration, when they drew 2-2 with the Hungarian team in their own field.

Lithuanians were leading 2-0 at halftime after Fedor Chernych and Pijus Sirvys' goals, but after the break the visitors returned to the game, equalizing the score, but did not secure their entry into the European Championship yet.

"There were not many changes in our preparation for the match. We wanted to maintain the same pattern as in the match against Bulgaria.

When we have the ball, we want to cherish it and open up spaces in front of us. As long as we had strength, we played, later we sat down a bit. We simply ran out of energy, the Hungarians took the initiative. The preparation was exactly the same as before the match with Bulgaria.

I think the guys executed our agreements very well. We scored two goals and had a few more chances. In the second half, we also tried to rise up, but our biggest problem was physical readiness, which was lacking at the end," - said the national team coach Edgaras Jankauskas after the match.

He also emphasized that during the break there were no thoughts or discussions about retreating deep and holding the current result.

"During the break, the thoughts were very simple - we needed to maintain the same rhythm of the game, we couldn't close ourselves in defense.

We didn't change anything, we wanted to rise high, not let them play the ball. Although it seemed that we were leading 2-0, with such opponents, in two or three minutes you can concede several goals and everything could turn upside down," - said the coach.

In this window, the national team won four points, not experiencing the taste of defeat. According to E. Jankauskas, the main message is that players should not be afraid to make a mistake on the field.

"The national team's work will never be about inventing or doing something new. Our message to the players was simple - not to be afraid to take risks, not to be afraid to make mistakes.

They felt support, trust, the fear of mistakes disappeared. I think that freedom and the absence of consequences somewhat liberate. Players feel good in the national team and want to be here.

We work professionally and players want to be here. To me, this is the best indicator that we are on the right path. We simply have good human relationships," - shared the coach's thoughts.