© EuroFootball.com
The Lithuanian national football team will play their 19th match at the end of the two-year cycle. This year, the last Lithuanian opponents will be Moldovan footballers.
The match will begin at 7 PM, and will not be broadcasted by any Lithuanian television.
By the end of 2013, the spectrum of selection for team coaches in defense and attack had been reduced to a minimum - solely due to injuries, seven invited players could not make it to the team camp.
The Lithuanian team gathered in Chisinau on Saturday evening. 18 players arrived in Moldova - three less than planned.
Goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis will not be able to help the team, as he has been struggling with an injury for the past month. Due to injuries, young defender Julius Aleksandravicius and forward Lukas Spalvis have also missed their chance to play for the national team. Four more players were forced to decline invitations to the national team earlier.
After a long journey, the footballers were given a light training session late on Saturday evening, with the main practice taking place on Sunday. The coaches provided the team with a video analysis of the Moldova match against Montenegro, and the team tested the "Zimbru" stadium pitch the night before.
Big clubs have excellent infrastructure.
Quite unusual, but the hosts of the match, the Moldovan national football players, did not organize a training session at the stadium. The main reason mentioned by the national team representatives was the cost of renting the stadium. The 10,000-seat "Zimbru" stadium, built in 2006, belongs to the club with the same name.
Although Moldova is the poorest country in Europe in terms of GDP per capita, the well-established "Zimbru" club has had all the necessary infrastructure for almost a decade. The 6-hectare complex includes two small stadiums with natural and artificial turf, a mini football field, a club administrative building, two cottages for accommodation, a medical center, a hotel, and tennis courts.
Even more impressive is the current country champion, Tiraspol's "Sheriff", which is located in the separatist Transnistrian region bordering Moldova. There, on Tuesday, the Lithuanian U-21 national team will play European youth championship qualification matches against the local peers.
Opponents play after an impressive victory.
In the friendly matches between the Lithuanian and Moldovan national teams, this will be the eighth time since 1992. The teams have two victories each, and the games have ended in a draw three times. The last match between the two teams in Moldova in 2006 ended with a 3-2 victory for the hosts. Exactly five years ago in Tallinn, the teams played to a 1-1 draw.
This year, the Moldovan footballers are finishing on a high note. In the last World Cup qualifying cycle matches, the Moldovans defeated Montenegro 5-2. Among the Moldovan results in the qualifying group are draws against Poland and Ukraine on their home turf.
"The Moldovan team played very well in their last two matches, so we can expect an interesting game. We respect the opponent, but we are not afraid of them. We did not come here to lose. These friendly matches are also an opportunity to test younger players," said interim Lithuanian national team coach Igor Pankratjevas at a press conference before the match.
Realizing a young player's dream.
There will be two potential debutants in the Lithuanian team - 18-year-old forward Simonas Stankevičius and his peer, midfielder Deimantas Petravičius.
Representing English clubs, the National Football Academy trainees helped the country's U-19 team reach the "elite" qualifying stage in October, and are being called up to the national team for the first time.
"The invitation from England surprised and delighted me. The coaches at Nottingham Forest were happy that I got this opportunity and wished me luck," said D. Petravičius. "One of my dreams is coming true. Playing for the national team is a great honor."
The young midfielder said he is currently trying to warm up in the national team. "The first training sessions were not easy. However, it takes time to adjust, to get into the rhythm," D. Petravičius shared his impressions. "The team environment has been good, even though I didn't know anyone except Simon. I am rooming with Karolis Chvedukas, so we got to know each other and talk about football and other things."
Representing Nottingham Forest, D. Petravičius has already experienced senior football in the club's reserve team this year, and now awaits the opportunity in the national team. "If I had the chance, I am 100% ready," said the midfielder, who was hindered by an injury to participate in the European U-19 Championship held in Lithuania this summer.
The match will be officiated by a referee team from Romania. The field referee will be experienced Alexandru Tudoras, who has been working in international competitions since 2001.
The start of the Moldova-Lithuania match is at 7 pm Lithuanian time.
Lineup of the Lithuanian national team for the match against Moldova:
Goalkeepers: Emilijus Zubas (Larnaca AEK, Cyprus) Paulius Grybauskas (Riga "Skonto", Latvia)
Defenders: Tadas Kijanskas (Haifa "Hapoel", Israel) Vytautas Andriuškevičius (Stockholm "Djurgarden", Sweden) Valdemar Borovskij (Riga "Daugava", Latvia) Marius Žaliūkas ("Leeds United" AFC, England) Georgas Freidgeimas (Vilnius MFD "Žalgiris")
Midfielders: Saulius Mikoliūnas (FC "Sevastopol", Ukraine) Mindaugas Panka (Kiryat Shmona "Hapoel Ironi", Israel) Mindaugas Kalonas (FC "Baku", Azerbaijan) Fedor Černych (Mogilev "Dnepr", Belarus) Nerijus Valskis (Marijampole "Sūduva") Vytautas Lukša ("Gomel", Belarus) Gediminas Vičius (Karaganda "Shakhtar", Kazakhstan) Karolis Chvedukas (Marijampole "Sūduva") Deimantas Petravičius ("Nottingham Forest", England)
Forwards: Evaldas Razulis (Klaipeda "Atlantas") Simonas Stankevičius ("Leicester City", England)
