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On Monday, having learned about their future opponents in the UEFA Europa League qualifying competition first stage, the players of Žalgiris start their work.
On July 4th, Vilnius City Football Club "Žalgiris" will face Ireland's "Saint Patrick's Athletic" team in the capital.
Among the possible opponents of the people of Vilnius were the teams of "Gefle IF" (Sweden), Turku "International" (Finland), Reykjavik KR (Iceland), and "Ventspils" (Latvia).
"This year I have not seen any matches of the 'Saint Patrick's Athletic' team, so I do not know their strength. In the near future, we will have to do a lot of work - find and analyze all the information about our future opponents.
"We will try to watch at least a few of their matches, carefully examine the club's history, composition, and past performances in European tournaments," - said the coach of VMFD "Žalgiris" team Marekas Zubas after the draw ceremony.
"All possible opponents of ours were of similar strength, so we did not avoid any opponent. Now the most important thing is to analyze the opponent's game and prepare properly for the match," said 'Žalgiris' defender and player-coach Andrius Skerla.
"It is better to play the first match away. Then you can get to know the opponents, see their abilities. Usually, in the first matches, there is reconnaissance, and in the second match, the focus is on achieving a result. However, in any case, you need to fight and prove superiority on the field," said A. Skerla.
"The first home match will give us some advantages. At the end of June, after a important match in the A League with Klaipėda's 'Atlantas', we will have more time to rest, we won't have to waste energy on the journey," noted M. Zubas.
Žalgiris will play the return match in the Irish capital on July 11.
If Vilnius's team manages to advance to the second stage, they will face clubs from Armenia or Macedonia - Yerevan's "Pyunik" and Tetovo's "Teteks". The winner of this pair will play against the winner of the Lithuanian and Irish pair on July 18 and 25.
In case of a successful performance by Žalgiris, the match on July 18 will take place at the Vilnius LFF Stadium, and the return match on July 25 will be played away.
