European Girls U19 Championship - fourth national team final tournament in Lithuania

2024-06-21 12:00 © lff.lt

In Lithuania, the European U19 girls' championship, which will take place in July, will become the fourth final stage of national team tournaments held in our country.

LFF.lt invites you to briefly remember and travel to other international tournaments that took place in our country until now.

2013 European Boys' U19 Championship

It was the first tournament of this level in our country and took place in the second half of July 2013. Lithuania's U19 boys' team also played in it, and the championship took place in three cities - Kaunas, Alytus, and Marijampolė.

Eight teams competed in the tournament, which were divided into two groups of four teams each, and the two strongest teams from each group advanced to the semifinals.

In the final, teams from Serbia and France faced each other. In the battle for the trophy, the Serbians triumphed, defeating their opponents 1:0 in Marijampolė.

Several current world-class stars shone in that championship in Lithuania. Among them were Serbians Aleksandar Mitrović and Sergej Milinković-Savić, Portuguese players Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo, as well as Frenchman Adrien Rabiot. Also, some well-known Lithuanian players like Edvinas Gertmonas, Gratas Sirgėdas, who became one of the top scorers of the tournament, Donatas Kazlauskas, and others played in that team.

The tournament received a lot of attention, especially during the matches of the Lithuanian national team, where the stadium stands were almost full.

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2018 European Girls' U17 Championship

Another international tournament arrived in Lithuania after five years - the European Girls' U17 Championship took place in Lithuania in May 2018.

Eight teams played here, including the Lithuanian team. The tournament also took place in three cities - Alytus, Marijampolė, and Kaunas, which was replaced by Šiauliai.

In that championship, Lithuania's colors were defended by several players who are currently important members of the national women's team. They are goalkeeper Meda Šeškutė, forward Ugnė Lazdauskaitė, defenders Erika Šupelytė and Marija Galkina, for whom it was their first taste of international football.

The tournament was full of drama - Spain, Germany, England, and Finland reached the final four, with Finland making its debut in this age group's final tournament. Finland won the third place in the tournament and thus earned the opportunity to participate in the World Cup for the first time, while in the final, girls' football powerhouses Spain and Germany fought each other.

The matches were intense, but Spain's national team won 2-0, with Eva Navarro scoring twice accurately. This was the first girls' championship final tournament in Lithuania, and soon we will see the second one.

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2021 FIFA Futsal World Championship

For now, this is the largest international football event held in our country. Twenty-four teams competed in Lithuania for the title.

Our country's futsal team also played here, becoming the first Lithuanian national team ever to compete in the main stage of a World Championship. Although Lithuanians lost all three matches in the group, they gave their opponents a tough fight in all of them.

Multiple-time world champions Brazil and Spain also played in Lithuania, and the tournament title was defended by the Argentine national team.

The tournament took place in three cities - Kaunas, Vilnius, and Klaipėda, and both local and foreign fans were delighted by the presence of futsal legend Ricardinho.

Before the tournament, he publicly announced that it would be his last championship with the national team colors. As it happened, the legend ended his career on a high note - by becoming a world champion with his country. This added the only missing trophy to his extensive collection.

Futsal will return to Lithuania soon - Lithuanians and Latvians will host the UEFA European Futsal Championship in early 2026.

The upcoming girls' championship will be another memorable experience for its participants, so we invite fans to come to the stadiums and support the young female footballers.

Remember that the championship will take place in Kaunas, Marijampolė, and Jonava from July 14-27.