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The Lithuanian national football team will play their last match of the year next week - on November 14th in Yerevan our team will test their strength against Armenia. Several young players have been called up to the team for this match, while some senior team members will stay in their clubs.
Youth players will replace senior members
The men's national team has been supplemented by several players who have represented the youth U-21 team in recent years - defender Aurimas Vilkaitis, midfielders Fedor Chernych, Karolis Chvedukas, Tadas Eliosius. The first two players have been called up to the national team for the first time.
The head coach of the Lithuanian national team, Csaba Laszlo, has included a total of 25 players in the extended squad, but not all of them will travel to Armenia.
At the request of clubs and players, Deividas Semberas, Marius Zaliukas, Tomas Danilevicius, Darvydas Sernas, Deividas Cesnauskis, and Zydrunas Karcemarskas will not participate in these matches. Arvydas Novikovas may also not attend.
"We took into account the players' interests and their situations in their clubs. Some clubs, such as "Alania" in Russia or "Hearts" in Scotland, are currently going through a difficult period. Another thing is the players fighting for a spot in the main lineup," Cs. Laszlo explained.
According to him, other players will have the opportunity to shine in the friendly matches: "We want to give a chance to those who have come from the youth team, as well as those playing in the Lithuanian championship. I also plan to provide opportunities for both goalkeepers, Deividas Matulevicius and Marius Stankevicius, who is trying to regain form after an injury."
Return visit
These matches in Armenia are Lithuania's return visit. In August 2011, Armenian football players visited Kaunas. Back then, Lithuanians won with a score of 3:0, but this time Cs. Laszlo expects a tougher fight.
"Armenia is an interesting team, with technical, fast players. Especially impressive is Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Donetsk's Shakhtar. I saw how he played against London's Chelsea, and it also says a lot that he is the top scorer in the Ukrainian league," Cs. Laszlo said.
The friendly matches between the Lithuanian and Armenian national teams will take place on November 14th at the national stadium in Yerevan. The game will start at 17:00 Lithuanian time.
Extended squad of the Lithuanian national football team for friendly matches with Armenia (November 14, 2012)
(Name, Surname, Club)
Goalkeepers: Ernestas Setkus (Plovdiv's Botev, Bulgaria) Giedrius Arlauskis (Kazan's Rubin, Russia)
Defenders: Marius Stankevicius (Rome's Lazio, Italy) Tadas Kijanskas (Kielce's Korona, Poland) Vytautas Andriuskevicius (Gdansk's Lechia, Poland) Valdemaras Borovskis (Marijampole's Suduva) Georgas Freidgeimas (Vilnius' Zalgiris) Aurimas Vilkaitis (Rome's Lazio, Italy) Tomas Mikuckis (Khabarovsk's SKA-Energia, Russia)
Midfielders: Edgaras Cesnauskis (FC Rostov, Russia) Mindaugas Panka (Chorzow's Ruch, Poland) Saulius Mikoliunas (Kiev's Arsenal, Ukraine) Arvydas Novikovas (Edinburgh's Hearts, Scotland) Linas Pilibaitis (Dorog's ETO, Hungary) Karolis Chvedukas (Marijampole's Suduva) Vytautas Luksa (Panevezys' Ekranas) Fedor Chernychas (Novopolotsk's Naftan, Belarus) Tadas Eliosius (Marijampole's Suduva) Vaidotas Silenas (Vilnius' Zalgiris) Rytis Leliuga (Liepaja's Metalurgs, Latvia)
Forwards: Arturas Rimkevicius (FC Siauliai, Lithuania) Deivydas Matulevicius (Targu Jiu's Pandurii, Romania) Tadas Labukas (Riga's Skonto, Latvia) Andrius Velicka (Sumqayit's AZAL, Azerbaijan)
