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The Lithuanian national football team gathered in Vilnius on Monday. The Lithuanians face the last two matches in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers in the coming week. On October 11th they will play against Latvia, and four days later against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Defender will not arrive due to injury
22 footballers gathered in the team's camp in the capital on Monday. Two more - defender Tomas Mikuckis and goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis, representing Russian clubs, will join the team later.
Defender Arvydas Novikovas will not be able to help the team. The 22-year-old defender has been suffering from injuries since September after a game against Latvia, which kept the player out of matches in the German second Bundesliga in recent months.
The sniper got his chance
For the first time, "Sūduva" defender Nerijus Valskis and young "Atlantas" forward Donatas Kazlauskas joined the national team.
"N.Valskis is the top scorer in the Lithuanian league, so his invitation is clear. We want to help D.Kazlauskas as a player. Training with the national team will help him integrate into it in the future," explained interim coach Igoris Pankratjevas.
"I've been waiting for the call-up for a long time and finally got it. I am very happy," said E.Valskis. "I will try to prove that I can play well not only in the club but also in the national team. I will try to realize myself and help as much as I can."
Only a victory will satisfy
Until Friday's match with Latvia, Lithuanians have four days for training. "There are always too few days. Hard work awaits us. We have planned both theoretical and practical activities. We will focus on tactics," said I.Pankratjevas. "Right now, we only think about the game with Latvia. You understand that only a victory will satisfy us in this match."
According to defender Tadas Kijanskas, the upcoming matches oblige due to their own fans. "That's why we want to show ourselves as best as possible. We need to recover from the loss in Latvia and achieve revenge. I believe that the Lithuanian national team is stronger, but we need to prove it on the field," said T.Kijanskas.
"We don't need to focus on the opponents, we need to focus on ourselves," insisted N.Valskis. "We need to win at home. I think we are stronger, but we need to go out on the field and prove it."
The match between Lithuania and Latvia will take place on Friday, starting at 18:30 in Vilnius, at the LFF stadium. Tickets for the match are available on "Bilietai.lt".
