© EuroFootball.com
The only Lithuanian who has completed studies related to football at one of the universities in Great Britain, Augustinas Pakulis, hopes that the Lithuanian national team will manage to achieve at least a draw in Salamanca tonight.
Speaking to the portal "EuroFootball.com," one of the founders of the "Sunday Football League" said: "We will play against world champions - everyone understands that it will be extremely difficult. The opponents practically have no weak points."
Pakulis wouldn't recommend to Raimondas Žutautas' students to blindly close themselves off in defense: "It is very important what tactics the Lithuanian national team will choose. If the coach chooses a "defensive" game and the whole team just defends, everything can turn out very badly."
He continued: "We should try to counterattack - this tactic worked against the Czechs. Of course, it will be different against the Spanish, as they are a team that capitalizes on opportunities very well. The Czechs were confused, their attack was struggling - the Spaniards don't have such problems. So we cannot make mistakes in defense, like we sometimes saw in our first matches against Scotland."
There will be a few important footballers missing in the Spanish ranks, but it won't be a big problem for the opponents, according to Pakulis interviewed by "EuroFootball.com."
"Both Xavi and Torres are important players for the national team, but Spain can form two - three equivalent teams, so expecting worse performance due to these injuries is not worth it," he said. - "Finally, there are David Villa, David Silva, and Artiz Aduriz performing excellently for Valencia."
"In general, Lithuania is doing quite well against strong teams. A few years ago, we played against the same Spaniards and played a draw at home, while losing by a minimum result away. It is possible to play with Spaniards, at least we have the opportunity to fight for a draw."
The next match in the Lithuanian qualification cycle will await in late March next year - the same Spanish team will arrive in Kaunas.
"One point in two matches against the Spaniards would be very good. If we could achieve even two - fantastic, because for the others competing against the Spaniards will also be very difficult," Pakulis said.
