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Ten European teams began preparations for the continental selection matches on Tuesday and played five friendly matches. The biggest victory in the history of national teams was achieved by future Lithuania's opponent Ukraine, easily defeating their opponent and Slovakia, while all other matches ended in a draw.
In the match against Azerbaijan in Kyiv, Ukrainian coach Oleg Blokhin allowed himself to experiment a bit, but that didn't stop the team from playing successfully and leaving no hopes for the opponents. Already three minutes after Andrejus Nesmačno's pass, Andriy Voronin scored, nine minutes later Sergey Nazarenko scored a penalty, and the goals of Ruslan Rotan and Oleg Gusev allowed the hosts to lead 4-0 after the first half.
In the second half, O. Blokhin made some substitutions, and two of the players who appeared on the field - Andriy Vorobei in the 72nd minute and Alexei Belik in the 90th minute - completed the Azerbaijani rout. The match ended with Ukraine's 6-0 victory, the largest victory in all 14 years of the team's existence.
Slovakia's national team did not have much trouble playing against "Malta" in Bratislava, but only one man scored goals there - the new "Rangers" acquisition Filip Šebo, for whom it was a debut match in his national team. The 22-year-old forward scored three goals and helped his team secure a convincing victory.
The defensive game prevailed in Swansea, Wales, where the local team played goalless with Bulgaria. The same result ended the 100th match for Spanish captain Raul - his team, led by him, finished the match in Iceland with a draw. Meanwhile, the match of Slovenia at home against Israel was dramatic, as the visitors took the lead in the 81st minute thanks to Yossi Benayoun, but a few minutes later Goran Šukalo managed to equalize the score.
