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Mali 3 - 1 Lithuania
25' [1 - 0] Adama Tambourra
28' [1 - 1] Edgaras Jankauskas
31' [2 - 1] Mahamadou Diarra
45' [3 - 1] Mamadou Diallo
Lithuania: Malinauskas; Šemberas, Skerla, Džiaukštas (78' Paulauskas), Stankevičius; Kalonas (80' Kavaliauskas), Miceika, Danilevičius, Radzinevičius (46' Morinas); Velička (46' Savėnas), Jankauskas (87' Beniušis)
The match at the "Marville a la Courneuve" stadium in Paris started a bit late. The Malian team could feel at home as many African supporters living in France came to support them. This inspired the Malians and they started the match a bit more actively, but apart from one unsuccessful attempt from distance, they did not create anything more dangerous.
In the 14th minute, Lithuanians had their first dangerous opportunity - Marius Stankevičius’ header from a cross was passed further into the middle by Edgaras Jankauskas, and Andrius Velička managed to win the duel with the opponent, but his header missed the target.
The Malian team gradually gained territorial advantage and tried to shoot from distance more frequently - once Seydou Keita shot straight at Mindaugas Malinauskas, once he missed to the side, and Djibril Sidibe's attempt was also inaccurate. In the 25th minute, the Africans managed to score a goal when after a pass from the side, goalkeeper M. Malinauskas did not communicate well with the defenders and the ball rolled into the net.
The Malians' advantage lasted only three minutes - Deividas Šemberas earned a penalty on the left side and after a pass from Mindaugas Kalonas, Edgaras Jankauskas, left open in the penalty area, scored a header and thus marked his return to the national team after a hiatus of more than a year.
However, most of the spectators in the stadium could rejoice again, as in the 31st minute, after Marius Stankevičius left his defensive position on the right side, Adama Tambourra drew the center back to himself and made a pass into the penalty area where the unmarked Mahamadou Diarra scored a diving header to restore Mali's lead.
The Lithuanian defense faltered and soon the Malians had another opportunity, but Malinauskas managed to neutralize the danger by coming out of the goal in time. The Lithuanian goalkeeper had to work actively and a few minutes later he blocked a long-range shot and caught a header after a corner.
As the half was coming to an end, the guests also switched to attack, but missed the target with M. Kalonas, and the goalkeeper Mahamadou Sidibe deflected a strong distant shot by E. Jankauskas. However, just before the break, the Lithuanian national team made their situation even more complicated - as a result of a mistake in the midfield defense, Mamadou Diallo broke away one-on-one and deceived M. Malinauskas to send the ball into the net. The first half ended 3-1 in favor of Mali.
After the break, temporarily led by Vitalijus Stankevičius, the Lithuanian national team made substitutions, bringing in Igoris Morinas and Mantas Savėnas for Andrius Velička and Tomas Radzinevičius, while Tomas Danilevičius moved up into the attacking midfield alongside Edgaras Jankauskas.
Nevertheless, both teams initially struggled to create dangerous attacks again, and the first dangerous Mali attack almost ended in another goal for the Lithuanian national team, but after a pass from the side, M. Diallo's diving header missed the target.
Later, the Lithuanians gradually took the initiative and began to visit the opponent's goal more often. In the 55th minute, after a prolonged Lithuanian attack, the ball flew just beside the defended goal of M. Sidibe, and in the 62nd minute, the goalkeeper deflected a strong shot from M. Savėnas after a successful Lithuanian combination.
Another ten minutes later, E. Jankauskas' attempt was inaccurate, while the Malian team, towards the end of the match, tried to keep possession more and calm down the game. I. Morinas had almost the last real chance nine minutes before the end, but his weak shot from about 8 meters did not cause any major problems for the goalkeeper.
The Lithuanian national team lost by a score of 1-3 and started the year with a failure, but will have the opportunity to redeem themselves in the 2008 European Championship qualifiers, where on March 24 they will play against the World Vice-Champion, France, in Kaunas.
