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The Lithuanian youth (U-21) football team on Monday awaits a clash with the strong Ukrainian team, who recently defeated the Swedes. The youth team is preparing for the match in Kaunas with a significantly weakened squad, especially in the defense line. Many losses in defense For the match against the Ukrainian team, 19 players have been called up, six of whom are representing foreign clubs. The most painful losses are in the defense line. Due to accumulated yellow cards, Karolis Urbaitis will not be able to help the team. At the last minute, Aurimas Vilkaitis did not join the U-21 team due to illness, and Vytautas Andriuškevičius was called up to the national team and played two matches there. Injuries will also prevent Marijampolė's "Sūduva" defender Gyčius Urbas and Alytus' "Dainava" player Arūnas Mikaičius from making their debut in the national team. Due to injuries, two defenders will also not be able to help the team - Arminas Vaskela from Vilnius' "Žalgiris" and Tautvydas Eliošius representing "Šiauliai". There will also be a lack of one of the offensive leaders, Arvydas Novikovas. "This time it was more difficult than usual to assemble the squad as players are called up to the national team. There is a transitional period going on, so we have to rejuvenate our U-21 team in turn," said the team's coach Mindaugas Neoras. Opponents return to the path of victories The Lithuanian opponents arrive in Kaunas in high spirits - after a crushing 6-0 victory at home over the Swedish counterparts who are among the leaders in the group. "The Ukrainian team did not start this qualifying stage as successfully as expected. The coaches of this team struggled to find the optimal lineup, but their recent results show that the Ukrainians are returning to the path of victory. We are facing a very difficult opponent and extremely tough match," said M. Neoras. After a long break, striker Lukas Kochanauskas returned to the U-21 team. The "Dainava" player expressed his impatience to prove his worth: "I am glad to be able to represent the youth team again, it's nice to be together with the guys. We are facing a particularly tough opponent, as the Ukrainians are currently in good sporting form. I hope the coaches will give me the opportunity to get on the field and help the team." Best performance will be needed The veteran of the team and one of the leaders, "Sūduva" defender Karolis Chvedukas, said that tough matches are ahead: "We know that the opponents' lineup has changed significantly compared to the matches in Ukraine, and they celebrated an easy victory against the Swedes in the last match. We respect the opponents, but we train intensively and hope to achieve a positive result." Fedor Chernych, who contributed to the victories for "Naftan" Novopolotsk in the final of the Belarusian Cup a couple of weeks ago, said that if the team shows their best game, a favorable result can be expected. "It's a pity that some key players are missing, but we will fight and try to recover from the defeat in Ukraine. We know that tough matches are ahead, but if we play like we did at home against the Swedes, then we can expect a victory," said F. Chernych, who plays in both defensive and offensive positions. The match between Lithuania and Ukraine will take place on Monday, June 4 in Kaunas, at the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Sports Center stadium from 7 pm. The match will be broadcast live on the internet TV channel "Futbolo.tv" List of candidates for the Lithuanian U-21 team for the match against Ukraine (Name, surname, club) Goalkeepers: Emilijus Zubas (Panevėžys "Ekranas"), Tadas Simaitis (Galaţi "Oţelul", Romania), Lukas Lidakevičius ("Barnsley FC", England); Defenders: Karolis Jarmalavičius (Pakruojis "Kruoja"), Marius Miškinis (Kėdainiai "Nevėžis"), Donatas Nakrošius (Großes Schalke "Stal", Poland), Ernestas Pilypas (FK "Šiauliai"), Jaunius Juozaitis (Vilnius MFD "Žalgiris"), Edvinas Girdvainis ("Calcio Padova", Italy); Midfielders: Karolis Chvedukas (Marijampolė's "Sūduva"), Artūras Žulpa (Pakruojis "Kruoja"), Ernestas Veliulis (Pakruojis "Kruoja"), Simonas Paulius (Alytus "Dainava"), Lukas Kochanauskas (Alytus "Dainava"), Martynas Dapkus (Haifa "Maccabi", Israel), Rokas Urbelis (FC "Šiauliai"); Forwards: Audrius Brokas (Marijampolė's "Sūduva"), Fedor Černych (Mogilev "Dnepr", Belarus), Žilvinas Kymantas (Klaipėda "Atlantas").
