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The head coach of the Lithuanian national football team, Csaba Laszlo, has started to assemble the national team. In order to assess potential candidates, the strategist invited footballers playing in the country's top league and members of the youth (U-21) national team to a training camp in Vilnius. "These are very important days for everyone - both players and coaches. It is important for us to get to know each other, understand each other, and start building the team that will play for victories in the future," Cs. Laszlo said at a press conference today. "I want to emphasize that I view these two days as training sessions, where the goal is not the result. It is important for us to learn to understand each other." According to Cs. Laszlo, who started work in Lithuania this month, this two-day training camp will help him get to know local footballers better, who could potentially qualify for the national "A" team. Lithuanian players playing abroad have not been invited for now due to their club commitments. "I've watched almost all the preparation season matches, so many players that I invited, I have seen with my own eyes. Maybe only the players from Panevezys "Ekranas" were harder to evaluate because their season preparation took place in Spain," Cs. Laszlo mentioned. "It will also be very important for me to see the U-21 national team players. They are our future." Leading the "B" national team, Cs.Laszlo invited 15 players playing in the A league, representing four of the strongest clubs of the previous season - Panevezys "Ekranas", Vilnius "Žalgiris", Marijampolė "Sūduva" and "Šiauliai". In the Lithuanian U-21 national team, the majority of players, except Gdansk "Lechia" defender Vytautas Andriuškevičius, play in Lithuanian clubs. "We are glad to have the opportunity to test our strength against the Lithuanian men's "B" team and I am happy that the coach will be able to see our youth," said Vitalijus Stankevičius, the head coach of the Lithuanian youth ("U-21") national team. "In early January, we participated in a tournament in St. Petersburg, and although we were neither at our optimal composition nor in our best form, we did pretty well. I hope that tomorrow we will look even better, as the start of the season is approaching and the boys' physical form is improving." The first training session took place today on the artificial turf pitch at the LFF stadium. "Its quality is definitely better than an indoor arena, so we chose to play there. We will try to protect the players, as I respect the club coaches and understand how bad it would be to get injured before the start of the season," Cs. Laszlo explained. Defenders Povilas Leimonas and Ramūnas Radavičius will not be able to join the "B" national team due to injuries, while defenders Artūras Žulpa and Simonas Paulius will not be able to help the U-21 national team. On Tuesday, both teams will play each other at the LFF stadium from 11 am. The training match will be broadcast live on "Futbolo.TV". Lithuania's "B" national team composition: (Name, surname, club) Goalkeepers: Marius Rapalis (Vilniaus MFD "Žalgiris"), Emilijus Zubas (Panevezys "Ekranas"); Defenders: Algis Jankauskas (Vilniaus MFD "Žalgiris"), Vaidas Slavickas (Marijampolės "Sūduva"), Egidijus Vaitkūnas (Vilniaus MFD "Žalgiris"), Georgas Freidgeimas (Vilniaus MFD "Žalgiris"), Valdemaras Borovskis (Marijampolės "Sūduva"); Midfielders: Andrius Urbšys (Marijampolės "Sūduva"), Andrius Bartkus (FC "Šiauliai"), Mantas Kuklys (Vilniaus MFD "Žalgiris"), Mantas Savėnas (Panevezys "Ekranas"), Vaidas Šilėnas (Vilniaus MFD "Žalgiris"), Marius Šoblinskas (Marijampolės "Sūduva"); Strikers: Artūras Rimkevičius (FC "Šiauliai"), Andrius Velička (Panevezys "Ekranas"). Lithuania's "U-21" national team composition: (Name, surname, club) Goalkeepers: Aivaras Bražinskas (Vilniaus MFD "Žalgiris"), Emilijus Zubas (Panevezys "Ekranas"); Defenders: Karolis Jarmalavičius (Pakruojo "Kruoja"), Marius Miškinis (FBK "Kaunas"), Ernestas Pilypas (FC "Šiauliai"), Karolis Urbaitis (Vilniaus MFD "Žalgiris"), Jaunius Juozaitis (VMFD "Žalgiris"), Vytautas Andriuškevičius (Gdansk "Lechia", Poland); Midfielders: Karolis Chvedukas (Marijampolės "Sūduva"), Arminas Vaskela (VMFD "Žalgiris"), Ernestas Veliulis (Pakruojo "Kruoja"), Markas Beneta (Vilniaus MFD "Žalgiris"), Tautvydas Eliošius (FC "Šiauliai"); Strikers: Tadas Eliošius (Marijampolės "Sūduva"), Audrius Brokas (Suvalkų "Wigry", Poland).
