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The Lithuanian Olympic team (up to 21 years old) recently lost two players - M. Bagužis and M. Panka suffered injuries during the "A-League" matches on October 7th. They are still in the camp, but will definitely not play in the Tuesday match against Spain.
According to the U-21 team coach Vitalijus Stankevičius, the "A-League" tour greatly interfered with the team's preparation for the match against the group-leading Spaniards. The temporary coach of the youth team also mentioned other problems his team faced.
"Two injured players. Even worse - during the last round of matches in the "A-League", played at the Kauno S. Dariaus and S. Girėno stadium, the field was very torn up due to rain. So now we are not allowed in the stadium - they are working on the field before the matches. We understand the stadium staff, but the match could have been postponed. Every day we travel to the stadium in the city of Marijampolė. I want to thank the LFF, who promptly agreed with the people of Marijampolė, so we can at least train. The field is really good. But now we can say that we are playing away, not at home," complained the coach.
Despite the difficulties and lack of confidence, V. Stankevičius promised that his team is preparing to fight for victory with all their might: "I do not understand such an attitude towards youth football - we have not even played a match yet, and they are already criticizing us - we are determined to win and will give all our strength. Of course, we know what strong opponents await us, but if we don't believe, then why bother trying at all? Everyone demands a lot from youth players, but the conditions provided are far from ideal."
"We watched the match Bosnia and Herzegovina - Spain (0-2). It is difficult to judge anything from these matches - the Bosnia and Herzegovina team played defensively, and we will focus on attacking," V. Stankevičius said in an attempt to concentrate the team in the three days before the match.
