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On Tuesday and Wednesday the Lithuanian national football team continued their training camp in Austria. In preparation for Friday's World Cup qualifying match against the Slovaks, the strategists of our country's team selected the optimal starting eleven and cemented new bonds.
Selecting the team lineup
On the first day in the town of Schwechat near Vienna - where the team was staying - the footballers were unpleasantly surprised by strong wind and wetness, but from the second day the clouds began to disperse and by the third day the team was already enjoying the warming sun.
Most of the training time was devoted by the team coaches to match play dividing into two teams. This way the players were tested in various positions and at the same time improving mutual understanding.
Defense should be a priority - in this regard, the coaches experimented quite a bit, moving some players in certain positions and pulling them back to the defensive line.
All footballers arrived in good health - without serious injuries - so the coaches had to choose from 23 players during practice.
Dilemmas for Csaba Laszlo and his assistants Igor Pankratjev and Vitalij Stankevič - due to some changes the entire defense line has almost changed, while there is competition in the midfield and attacking lines
Attackers performed well in their clubs
Three invited forwards - Deivydas Matulevičius, Darvydas Šernas and Tadas Labukas are competing for a spot in the national team's attack. Even before the camp, Cs. Laszlo revealed that two of them have good chances to start in the lineup from the beginning of the match.
The coaches were particularly pleased with the productive series of D.Šernas and D. Matulevičius - both forwards scored several goals in the last month.
"I scored several goals, I feel good in Turkey. Each goal adds confidence in my abilities," said D.Šernas - "It's great that there is competition in the national team. The coach has a choice. I hope that one of us will stand out."
"I started the second round of the season in Romania excellently. Now I received an invitation to the national team and hope to meet expectations. When forwards score goals, it's easier for the coaches - they can choose from more options," said D.Matulevičius - "I think we should fight for three points in every match. We scored in Vilnius, we can score in Slovakia too."
Thursday morning the team will travel almost 300 kilometers by bus to Žilina, where they will stay and train for the upcoming match against Slovakia on the field. The duel between Slovakia and Lithuania will be played on Friday, starting at 21:10 Lithuanian time. The match will be broadcasted on LRT television.
