© EuroFootball.com
Before their debut in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, the Lithuanian boys' national team (players born in 1994 and younger) had one final chance to evaluate their strength in a match. On a rainy Saturday evening in Kaunas, at the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium, the young players faced one of the favorites of the A League championship, Klaipėda's "Atlantas". The experienced opponents won 1:0.
The Lithuanian boys' national team preparing for their debut in the European championship lost to "Atlantas".
Defender injured
In this match, the U-19 team was missing defender Deimantas Petravičius and forward Lukas Spalvis, so there were several changes in the starting lineup. During the first minutes of the match, "Atlantas" managed to take advantage of a gap in the national team's defense and score a goal – Gediminas Kruša was the scorer.
In the middle of the first half, an unpleasant incident occurred. Trying to stop the opponents' attack, Džiugas Petrauskas suffered a calf injury. The player needed medical assistance. According to them, it's hard to say if the defender will recover in time for the start of the championship.
In the second half, both teams made several changes. The U-19 team had more control over the ball, but they couldn't change the score - this time the older footballers of Klaipėda's "Atlantas" were stronger.
A chance to show what each player can do
According to national team coach Antanas Vingilys, they wanted tough matches for the final test. "And that's what we got. We tried to implement our strategy, but this time we didn't succeed," said A. Vingilys. "Now we need to finally decide on the lineup. The players need to regain their strength so that they can enter the championship fully prepared, rested, and full of energy."
The goalkeeper of the Lithuanian U-19 team, T. Švedkauskas, said he values the match as a useful lesson: "Our goal is to prepare for the championship. We will try to analyze the match and improve. It was also a chance for the players to show what each of them can do and which ones are the most valuable to play."
