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The Lithuanian national football team started preparations for the upcoming friendly matches on Wednesday. The core of the team at training sessions for now consists of foreign-based players.
Getting to know the players
Before departure to Switzerland, where they will meet with Russian footballers on Tuesday, the national team is training at the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Sports Center stadium in Kaunas.
At the first training sessions, just over half of the players participated, while the rest - players from Panevėžys "Ekrantas" and Vilnius "Žalgiris" as well as Marijampolė "Sūduva" - will join the team after the "General Financing A League" championship matches on Friday.
"We are not planning to overload the players physically. Many of them arrived after holidays or tired from the season, so we want to prevent them from getting more injuries. We are focusing mainly on tactics," said Vitalijus Stankevičius, assistant coach of the national team, to the Futbolo.TV website.
According to the specialist, the new coach Csaba Laszlo is eager to get to know the players: "He is trying to communicate as much as possible, wants to see closely what the players are capable of on the field. Then, the usual work awaits. We will prepare the team for the qualification matches."
Missing the team's friends
Saulius Mikoliūnas, defender of Kiev's "Arsenal," told Futbolo.TV that after a longer break, it's nice to meet the team's friends again. "We miss each other. Now we can communicate not only by phones but also talk face to face," explained the footballer - "We have a new coach, new plans. I know Cs. Laszlo from the times of 'Hearts.' He is a coach who has achieved results in various countries. He is a good strategist, enjoys discipline. I hope his innovations will help us prepare for better results."
According to S. Mikoliūnas, after a tough season, there is a desire to rest, but all footballers will strive to maintain their fitness and perform as well as possible. "There will never be a lack of motivation to play against teams like Russia. However, they are European Championship participants," said the experienced defender.
In Kaunas, Lithuanian footballers will train until Sunday. Early in the morning of this day, the national team delegation will fly to Nyon, where they will have a match against Russia. On June 1-3, our team will play in the Baltic Cup competitions in Estonia, and on June 7, they will meet with Belarus as visitors.
