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The Lithuanian U-17 national team (players born in 1996 and younger) ended their performance in an international friendly tournament in Azerbaijan with a victory. In the last "Caspian Cup" match for 5th place, Lithuanians defeated the Turkish team after a penalty shootout.
In 80 minutes, the opponents resisted against the Lithuanians and the regular time ended in a 2-2 draw, but in the penalty shootout, our players were more accurate.
As the players coached by Vytautas Vaškūnas prepare for the European U-17 Championship qualifying matches to be held in Belgium in the fall, they played a total of four matches in the tournament.
In the group stage, Lithuanians achieved a victory against Kyrgyzstan with a score of 3-1, drew 0-0 with the hosts Azerbaijan, and were forced to concede a defeat to their peers from Kazakhstan with a score of 1-2.
"I am happy that we managed to finish the tournament with a victory against the strong Turkish team, which defeated the Spaniards in last year's final. This tournament showed that the U-17 national team is promising enough and has a high competitive spirit, being very determined and full of courage," shared Vytautas Vaškūnas, the head coach of the U-17 team, with LFF.lt.
According to the coach, this "Caspian Cup" tournament was a great opportunity for the team to test their strength against teams demonstrating different styles of football.
"This tournament unequivocally gave the players of the national team a lot of international match experience. They had to play in various conditions, such as early in the morning or in hot weather. We had the opportunity to test our game concept and were satisfied with its effectiveness. Against Kyrgyzstan, we played aggressive football, against Azerbaijan, we played disciplined and demonstrated a disciplined football based on zonal defense. In the match against Turkey, we tried to attack aggressively and defend with discipline. I am grateful to the team for their fighting spirit, determination, and endless determination," said V. Vaškūnas.
The "Caspian Cup" tournament, organized for the second consecutive year, this year invited national teams from Asian and Middle Eastern countries.
The winner of the tournament in Baku was the Georgian national team, which defeated the home team in the final with a minimum score of 1-0. Japan took third place. They defeated Kazakhstan 3-0, while in the tournament, the seventh place was taken by the Japanese, who defeated Kyrgyzstan 3-0.
Lithuania U-17 national team match statistics
Lithuania - Kazakhstan 1-2 (1-1) Goals: 40 min. Benas Spietinis (Lithuania); 29 min. Ivan Antipov, 54 min. Rifat Nurmugamet (Kazakhstan) Yellow cards: 25 min. Domantas Šimkus (Lithuania); 36 min. Mikhay Kharun-zade, 75 min. Yuri Kustov (Kazakhstan)
Kyrgyzstan - Lithuania 1-3 (1-1) Goals: 27 min. Abay Bokoloeyev; (Kyrgyzstan); 2, 76, 79 min. Daniel Romanovskij (Lithuania) Yellow cards: 21 min. Nursultan Talantbekov (Kyrgyzstan); 48 min. Edvinas Puzara, 55 min. Donatas Šėgžda, 79 min. Daniel Romanovskij (Lithuania)
Azerbaijan - Lithuania 0-0 Yellow card: 66 min. Domantas Šimkus (Lithuania)
Lithuania - Turkey 2-2 (1-1) (after penalty shootout 4-2) Goals: 29 min. Ainas Bareikis, 80 min. Donatas Šėgžda (Lithuania); 2 min. Erdican Sheltir, 52 min. Oghuljan Chaghlayan (Turkey) Yellow card: 55 min. Oghuljan Chaghlayan (Turkey)
