© EuroFootball.com
The Lithuanian national team faces a difficult task trying to make the dream come true and qualify for the final stage of the 2016 European Championship for the first time in history.
Without host France, who will not participate in the qualifiers, the tickets to the final stage will be fought for by the winners of the first and second places in each of the nine groups, as well as the best team in third place. The remaining eight countries in third place will compete against each other in an additional qualifying round.
Although official calculations have not yet been presented, with corrections still possible after the qualifying matches for the 2014 World Cup, the Lithuanian national team is likely to end up in the fifth strength basket and face theoretically stronger opponents than neighbors Latvia or Estonia from the fourth basket.
However, this does not mean that luck cannot smile in the draw - we try to prove this by suggesting a theoretically favorable draw for Lithuania, which would allow them to compete for at least the third place in the group.
The qualifying tournament, which will start in the fall of next year, the draw will take place on February 23 in Nice. The positions of the countries in the baskets will be determined by the results of the last three qualifying cycles for continental and world championships, giving the most weight to the last cycle.
Unofficial draw baskets: (possible corrections)
1. Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, England, Greece, Portugal, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
2. Sweden, Croatia, Ukraine, Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland
3. Serbia, Turkey, Slovenia, Romania, Israel, Norway, Slovakia, Austria, Montenegro
4. Armenia, Poland, Finland, Scotland, Latvia, Wales, Bulgaria, Estonia, Iceland
5. Belarus, Northern Ireland, Albania, Lithuania, Moldova, Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Cyprus
6. Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Faroe Islands, Malta, Andorra, San Marino, Gibraltar
EuroFootball.com expectations: England, Czech Republic, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania, San Marino
