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The Lithuanian national football team started preparations for the 2014 World Cup qualifying match against Slovakia on Friday. The football players' training camp in Austria was met with unexpectedly harsh weather conditions.
Located next to the airport
The Lithuanian national team players and staff arrived at Vienna International Airport on Monday. They didn't have to go any further - the hotel “NH Hotels,” hosting the team, is located on the airport grounds.
The usual four-star standard for national teams did not cost the Lithuanians this time - "NH Hotels" became a sponsor of the team and accommodated the entire delegation for free. The team's training was chosen to take place at the "Rudolf-Tonn" stadium complex in the town of Schwechat (about 18 km from Vienna).
Although the town has only 16 thousand residents and its local football club plays in the regional league in Austria, the Schwechat stadium can accommodate 7 thousand spectators and has several training fields nearby.
"From here to Slovakia is not far at all. The next thing is - a slightly warmer climate, and the training fields and all the conditions are very similar to those in Žilina during the matches," explained the national team's head coach Csaba Laszlo regarding the choice of the camp.
First training session - rain
However, at least in the beginning, the Austrian weather surprised the Lithuanians with an unpleasant surprise. Not only was there a strong wind, but the thermometer showed around zero degrees of warmth, and it started raining before the training.
"All conditions here are excellent, only the snow that fell was surprising. I hope the weather will improve later," said the team's goalkeeper Vytautas Lukša.
However, this did not ruin the team's plans - on the first evening, the football players focused more on stretching their tired muscles after the weekend matches, performing light exercises. 19 players gathered for the first training session, as four could not make it due to delayed flights.
"We will pay the most attention to tactics, as the players' physical condition is already good. We will also have to select the starting eleven - especially regarding defense and midfield," Cs. Laszlo specified.
Defenders need to play together
One of the coach's toughest tasks ahead is to solidify the defense line. According to defender Tomas Mikuckis, the most important thing will be playing together.
"We have not played together before, so we will have to put in a lot of work to get used to each other. I hope the coaches will be able to find the optimal player positions and coordinate mutual understanding," said T. Mikuckis.
A new face joined the team in this camp - defender Martynas Dapkus, who has played for the U-21 national team so far. The player from the National Football Academy, playing in Israel, appreciated the opportunity to gain valuable experience.
"I was pleasantly surprised when I found out I was invited. The first training session was interesting, a higher level is felt," said M. Dapkus. "The motivation is high, I will try my best. Even if I don't succeed this time, I won't give up."
In Austria, the Lithuanian football players will train for three days. On Thursday, the national team will depart for Žilina, where on March 22nd at 21:10 local time, the World Cup qualifying match will take place. The match will be broadcast live on LRT television.
