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On Friday, on the eve of the Europe U-19 Youth Football Championship, a press conference of all participating national team coaches took place in Kaunas. Before the tournament matches starting on Saturday in Kaunas, Marijampolė, and Alytus, the coaches shared their impressions and expectations.
Journalists not only from various Lithuanian media outlets, but also from foreign countries participating in the championship, attended the press conference. The matches will be broadcasted throughout Europe on the "Eurosport 2" channel.
In Group A of the Europe U-19 Championship, teams from Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal will compete. In Group B, teams from Serbia, Turkey, Georgia, and France will face each other. The championship will take place from July 20 to August 1.
The coach of the Lithuanian national team stated: "Everyone considers us underdogs."
During the conference, coaches from all countries praised the excellent organization of the championship – everyone was satisfied with living conditions, transportation, staff service, and gladly provided assistance.
The teams from Group B noted that the favorite in the group is considered to be the French youth national team, but their coach Francis Smerecki stated that all teams in the group are capable of competing for a spot in the semifinals.
In Group A, the Lithuanian national team coach Antanas Vingilys stood out the most, admitting that our team is the weakest: "Everyone considers us underdogs, but we will try to prove that this is not the case and we will fight until the end."
A tough match against the Dutch awaits
On Saturday, the Lithuanian U-19 national team will face the Netherlands youth football players. The coach of the Dutch national team, Wimas van Zwamas, revealed that they have prepared for the match against Lithuanians for a long time, watching many DVD recordings of our country's players. However, the Dutch coach admitted that a tough battle awaits, and even though the Dutch are hoping for victory, it will be very difficult to achieve it.
The match Lithuania - Netherlands will take place on Saturday at 18:30 at the Kaunas S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium.
