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Guesses and talks are over - on Saturday, the Lithuanian national team starts the qualifying cycle for the 2008 European Championship, where our country's footballers representing the team face an unenviable task. In the first match, Lithuanians will have to meet the strongest football team on the planet, Italy, in their stronghold in Naples. The match will start at 21:50 Lithuanian time.
If in the 2006 World Cup qualifying group Lithuania was among the toughest since regaining independence, this year it is undoubtedly the most difficult. Along with the Lithuanians, the group includes the French national team, which finished in the final of the planet's championship, as well as the quarterfinalist of the championship, Ukraine, and other well-known opponents - the teams of Scotland and the Faroe Islands, with whom Lithuania had to be in the same group in the last Euro-2004 qualifying cycle, as well as the familiar Georgia, related to the most tragic defeat in the country's football history during the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup.
Frankly speaking, the group is so difficult that even the biggest optimists cannot expect to win the second place and a ticket to the final tournament of the Old Continent championship. Although before the draw of the qualifiers, the desire of the team's head coach Algimantas Liubinskas to compete against more famous opponents from Western Europe received a lot of criticism, it cannot be denied that it will bring benefits to football, as the financial benefit from matches with the giant teams of this sport can be used for football development in the country, and real football festivals and the possibility to see the world's most famous players can help raise interest in the sport, which in Lithuania is left out in the cold.
Of course, the goal of the national team in the upcoming qualifying matches is to perform as well as possible and secure a higher place. Regardless of the fact that at least four opponents in the group can be considered stronger than the Lithuanian national team, optimism can be drawn from the fact that Lithuanians have had better luck playing against famous teams so far - in 2002 the same Italians remained goalless in Kaunas and had to settle for a draw, and in 2003 in Nuremberg the Lithuanian national team played a draw as well 1-1. In the previous qualifying cycle, the Spaniards had a lot of trouble against the Lithuanians - drawing goalless in Vilnius and winning in Valencia with a minimal advantage, and the historical matches of the scoreless draws in Argentina away in 1999 must be mentioned. The reason for this is usually explained by the fact that when playing against stronger opponents, the Lithuanians have nothing to lose and give all their strength, and the opponents themselves also "dig a hole" for themselves by underestimating the Lithuanian team.
Some of the most impressive football victories are related to the names of Ukraine and Scotland - in September 1994, A.Liubinskas' pupils won against the hosts in Kiev with a score of 2-0, and in 2003 in Kaunas, during the most memorable week in the country's football history, the Lithuanian national team beat Scotland 1-0. True, there have been defeats when playing against these teams, but they were by no means as painful as the meeting with Georgia in Kaunas in 2000, when Lithuania helplessly lost 0-4. In addition, out of six matches against the Georgians, they have only managed to win once - this happened exactly 14 years ago in friendly matches. Meanwhile, with constant "thorns" with the Faroe Islands, they have played four times and only managed to win once - in 1998 in Vilnius, when the match ended goalless.
Hope is also given by the fact that it will not be easy for the three teams that have participated in the World Cup to gear up again and find new motivation, as well as the improving game of the Lithuanian national team in recent years. Although the final result in the 2006 World Cup qualification was the penultimate place, this was not the team that was easily defeated four years ago. The team tried to play positive, attacking football as much as possible, and the game improved - in an unfavorable group with two Balkan teams, losing by two goals twice was only to Serbia and Montenegro, who won the group and practically played the entire qualifying cycle without stumbling against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and bravely confronted and caused a lot of nerves to the Spanish, played twice on a draw against the Belgians, and only after a fierce battle and a questionable penalty shootout lost to Moldova.
However, as is often the case, there are things that could hinder the Lithuanian national team. One of them is the failure to capitalize on created opportunities - it was one of the main reasons for the poor results in the final stages of the last qualifying cycle, when in the last three matches at home, the Lithuanians had many chances but only scored an own goal against their opponents. This problem seems not to have hindered the team in this year's friendly matches, but with the official matches starting and nerves increasing, this could become a concern again.
Another thing, not depending on the players themselves, is the stadium problem - for many years, the Lithuanian national team has not had a "home" stadium and essentially has to reluctantly return to the Kaunas S. Dariaus and S. Gireno stadium, more suitable for athletics than football, which, although renovated, is not in good condition. However, since the old Vilnius "Žalgiris" stadium bid farewell to international competitions, and the most modern "Vėtra" stadium in the capital is not suitable for the necessary infrastructure and unable to accommodate a large number of spectators, and the construction of a new national stadium remains only promises due to various incompatible interests and governmental indifference, the team has to play in Kaunas, where, as many admit, the appropriate atmosphere is not created, and the team fails to gain the significant advantage of a serious "home turf" against smaller country teams.
Whether the situation will change, we will only find out when the 2010 World Cup qualifying matches begin. Meanwhile, Lithuanian national team supporters will have to grit their teeth to support their team regardless of the upcoming difficulties and prepare to reconcile with harsh moments and possible disappointments, which will undoubtedly occur during the difficult path through the Euro-2008 qualifying tournament. The most difficult task awaits right from the start, as at the "San Paolo" stadium, hosting about 78 thousand spectators, where the 1990 World Cup semi-final took place, the Lithuanians will meet the Italian national team.
After the mentioned draws, after which one of the main stars of the current national team, Marius Stankevičius, plays for "Brescia", Lithuania has met Italy four more times, all in official matches. In the European Championship qualifying group in 1996, Lithuania in April 1995 admitted to the opponent's advantage just after the legendary goal by Gianfranco Zola. In these away matches, both times Lithuania lost 4-0: in late 1995 in Reggio Emilia after four missed goals in the second half, one of which was scored by Alessandro Del Piero, who wasn't playing against Lithuania this time, but remained the only participant from the potential national team players, and in 2003 in Trieste when, in addition to two goals by A.Del Piero, the only remaining player from the goalkeepers and midfielders left in the team staying and playing against Lithuania, Filippo Inzaghi, also scored two goals.
This time it will be the toughest for the Italian national team to start everything anew after a triumphant journey in Germany. Therefore, preparing for the match against Lithuania on Saturday evening at the "San Paolo" stadium in Naples, where the matches will be officiated by Martin Hansson, who worked in the European Youth Championship final this year, and for the World Cup final in Paris against France, the new Italian coach Roberto Donadoni stated that his team needs to focus on each match individually.
"We have to think about each match individually, and playing against the World champions, everyone will try to prove their abilities as much as possible. I am worried about the match with Lithuania because they are in better shape than us, so it will be a very difficult match," said the debutant strategist in official matches. - "We must fight with Lithuania considering that they are the actual World champions, not us. There is a good spirit in the team, and I saw that the players are ready for this duel. I hope that with such an attitude, as well as the additional boost given by these amazing fans, the match will be excellent...."
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