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The Lithuanian national team fought as equals in friendly matches with the powerful Norwegian eleven. With a changed lineup featuring three debutants, the Lithuanians did not give in to the top ten European team of Norway in a large part of the match but had to admit defeat at the end of the game after a painful penalty kick, 0:1. In the first half, there were few dangerous moments near the Lithuanian goal, and the most dangerous attacks took place near the Norwegian goal. Marius Papšys had an opportunity after a teammate's pass from the wing, but his header was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper, and Ramūnas Radavičius, after taking the ball from the opponent and breaking into the penalty area, struck wide of the goal. The Norwegians forced the Lithuanian goalkeeper Ernestas Šetkus to work harder only towards the end of the game when they activated their attacks and threatened the goal. However, most of the hosts' shots went wide. Unfortunately, with about six minutes left to play, the assistant referee awarded a penalty kick to the Lithuanian goal. The first shot by "Blackburn" defender Morten Gamst Pedersen was saved by E.Šetkus, but the second shot by the Norwegian was accurate. Later, Arūnas Klimavičius could have equalized with a penalty kick, but the opponent's goalkeeper saved it. The match ended with Norway's victory 1:0. The Lithuanian national team plans to play their next friendly match in August, and next week the B team will play a friendly match in Austria against Saudi Arabia. Post-match comments: Head coach of the Lithuanian national team Raimondas Žutautas: "Thank you to the guys for a good game. They fought well and showed that they know how to play. Today we really could have scored, created opportunities. We wanted to give the fans a better result. We analyzed the game of the Norwegian national team, and the opponents played as we expected. This team makes a lot of high passes into the penalty area, both after set pieces or corners and after throws from the flank. Today's match showed that we can successfully defend. It's good that we played such a game because we will face similar challenges in September away to Scotland. We also tested new players. Marius Papšys had an opportunity in the first half to score, played actively, boldly. His game can be praised - if he continues like this, we will have a very good wingback. Povilas Leimonas also debuted well, everything is ahead of him. We also tested Nerijus Astrauskas. I wouldn't want to judge the penalty awarded against us until I see the video replay. However, those who saw it said it was strange. I would also doubt the previous episode when there was no foul against our goalkeeper, and the opponents did not score into an empty goal. As you know, these matches were important for the Norwegians in terms of ranking points. If they made it into the top ten in Europe, it means they deserved it."
Lithuanian national team defender Tadas Kijanskas: "After the unexpected result in Liechtenstein, we wanted to redeem ourselves in front of the fans. We tried to concentrate more on defense. I think the match went well, we managed to deal with the opponents in aerial duels. We hoped for at least a draw, and if we could score - a victory. The first half was successful, we created chances. In the second half, the Norwegians had a slightly greater initiative, but we also had our chances. Whether the penalty was rightfully awarded, it's hard to judge for me. If it was given, maybe it was justified. But the referee let the game be played tough throughout, and he saw a serious foul there."
Lithuanian national team forward Tadas Labukas: "We fought well, played well, but it didn't go our way in the end. In my opinion, the penalty kick should not have been awarded. It's a pity that we lost, we didn't deserve such a result. It wasn't easy to fight against defender Brede Hangeland, who was two heads taller. The mood has already improved, but if not for the penalty, it could have been even better."
Lithuanian national team goalkeeper Dominykas Galkevičius: "The whole team fought, wanted to play, and gave everything they could. That's the most important thing. Perhaps we lacked more precise finishing in our attacks. The match against Liechtenstein will be hard to forget for the whole team, even for those who didn't play. But it's important to look forward, nothing will change now. We need to keep fighting. Now we are somewhat buried, but we will try to retaliate and win."
Norwegian national team coach Egil Olsen: "It is very real that we made it into the top ten teams, and we are proud of that. It's an important victory. However, today we had to play better. Most likely, the scheme with two forwards and four defenders did not work out."
