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The Lithuanian youth (up to 21 years old) national team will start the 2009 European Championship qualifying cycle with a match against Slovenia on June 5th. A few weeks ago, the draw determined that in Group 3, the team will also compete against Denmark, Finland, and Scotland.
"We will have to play with full force against all teams. The Finnish team is almost unknown to us. We have seen the Slovenian, Scottish, and Danish teams play much more often," said one of the national team coaches, Gerchardas Kvedaras.
The coach noted that there are no teams from Southern Europe in the group, and the playing style of all teams in the group is similar.
"All teams play physical, athletic football. Against Southern European teams, we should have an advantage in this respect, but on the other hand, similar playing styles level the chances of all teams. So we have a chance to advance to the next stage as well. That's the goal we set for the team," the strategist affirmed.
The coach reluctantly spoke about the team's leaders: "There are many players of similar ability in the team, so the competition is strong. It's evident who has gained more experience playing in the Lithuanian championships, but we don't want to single out leaders. The ideal situation is when it's "all for one and one for all."
This month, the national team played two friendly matches against the Latvian youth. In one match, Lithuanians celebrated a victory with a score of 2-1, while the other ended in a 1-1 draw. In both matches, the Latvians scored the first goal.
"Both coaches were satisfied with the result and the game. Mistakes were made, there was something to discuss after the matches, but it's pleasing that the team, after conceding the first goal in both matches, showed character and fought until the end," stated G. Kvedaras.
The Lithuania U-21 national team traveled to Latvia with the following lineup:
Goalkeepers 1. Arvydas Kacinkevičius ("Vėtra") 2. Laurynas Vertelis ("Šilutė")
Defenders 3. Nerijus Šulcas ("Vėtra") 4. Kazimieras Gnedojus ("Atlantas") 5. Deividas Padaigis ("Ekranas") 6. Artiomas Barinovas ("Vėtra") 7. Povilas Leimonas ("Sūduva") 8. Mindaugas Valančius ("Kauno Jėgeriai") 9. Audrius Juozaitis ("Šilutė")
Midfielders 10. Andrius Bartkus ("Kaunas") 11. Vaidas Slavickas ("Sūduva") 12. Nerijus Valskis ("Žalgiris") 13. Andrius Urbšys ("Sūduva") 14. Marius Činikas ("Kaunas") 15. Robertas Vėževičius ("Vėtra") 16. Aurimas Vertelis ("Vėtra") 17. Donatas Surblys ("Atlantas") 18. Dominykas Galkevičius ("Ekranas") 19. Žilvinas Banys ("Ekranas")
Forwards 20. Artūras Jeršovas ("Vilnius") 21. Jevgenijus Dovkša ("Žalgiris")
