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Odesa "Chernomorets" Stadium
Referee - Florian Meyer (Germany)
Ukraine - Lithuania
In official matches, Lithuania and Ukraine shared a win each - in September 1994, Algimantas Liubinskas' team beat the opponents in Kiev with a score of 2-0 (with goals scored by Valdas Ivanauskas and Aurelijus Skarbalius), but almost a year later, already under Benjamin Zelkevicius' coaching, the Lithuanian national team in Vilnius failed to maintain the advantage gained in the first half and, after conceding three goals after the break, lost 1-3.
Ukraine last played at the Odesa stadium in 1993 and the match against Israel ended in a 1-1 draw.
However, it is doubtful that the Wednesday match will help the Lithuanian national team in any way, as the meeting promises to be one of the toughest of all the 2008 European Championship qualifiers held so far. Although it may seem bold to say so after matches with world giants like Italy or France, there are several factors indicating the complexity of the match.
First of all, it is worth mentioning that Ukraine reached the top eight teams in the world's tournament in the summer of 2006 and only dropped out after a fierce battle against the eventual champions Italy. The second thing is that the Ukrainians will be playing at home, where up to 35 thousand football-crazy fans will be supporting them, and where they rarely lose.
Furthermore, it is no secret that the Lithuanian national team performs better against teams classified as European powerhouses (Germany, Italy, Spain, France) than against so-called mid-range teams (Serbia, Romania, Bosnia, Iceland, Georgia). However, perhaps the most important thing is how both teams prepared for this match. Ukraine had a tough trip to the distant Faroe Islands, but won convincingly there and could relax a bit and give a couple of players a rest, while Lithuania had to give their all in the match against France, and in the match in Odesa they will have to face practically the same lineup.
"There are no points for losing. The mood is not great, it was very sad to lose that match. Are there any energies left? There should be. We will try to play good football. I have played in Odesa with Vilnius "Žalgiris" before, it's an interesting city. Ukraine has a strong team with good performers. I don't think the trip to the Faroe Islands could have drained the Ukrainians. Ukrainian footballers play in very intense conditions in their clubs and they should not have a hard time adapting," - said the head coach of the Lithuanian national team, Algimantas Liubinskas, in an interview with the Ukrainian press.
A.Liubinskas did not reveal how they will try to play against Ukrainian star Andriy Shevchenko and assured that the most important thing is to win points: "We will see. We don't focus on individuals, so we won't chase him - we defend the zone. The guys know who Shevchenko is and without me, we will try to stop him. But he is the kind of player who can score out of nowhere. Any result that brings points would satisfy us. I will be happy if we play worse than against France, but don't lose."
"Ukraine has a very well-organized team. Oleg Blokhin has a wide selection of players playing in strong clubs. I think Ukraine has good chances to reach the final stage of the European Championship. I cannot say what tactics we will use against the Ukrainians, but we will certainly aim for a positive result. For me, the most important thing is to keep the gates dry. Everything else will depend on the attackers," said Lithuania's goalkeeper Žydrūnas Karčemarskas.
"Everyone understands that in this match we will have to give 100 percent, because 90 percent may not be enough," said Ukraine's defender Dmitry Chigrinsky.
He was echoed by midfielder Maxim Kalinichenko, who also said he does not expect an easy match: "Do we have the strength after the match with the Faroes? Or is there another option? No, we need to win three points at all costs. However, it will not be easy. We must be fully focused, as Lithuania is a serious opponent."
"Of course, we would like to score a quick goal, but I think Lithuania is not the kind of opponent you can score against easily. Nonetheless, we will choose a tactic that allows us to win this match. After the trip to the Faroe Islands, we are prepared both physically and, I think, psychologically," said Ukraine's head coach Oleg Blokhin in a press conference on the eve of the meeting.
Ukraine's national team practically has no injury problems, and the team should play with almost full strength - Andrei Shevchenko and Sergei Rebrov, who missed the match against the Faroe Islands, are healthy and ready for the match, so O.Blokhin will only miss defender Ruslan Rotan, who will not play due to lack of playing practice. In the starting lineup, A. Shevchenko should replace Alexei Bielik, who played against the Faroe Islands, and form an attacking duo with Andrei Voronin, while one of the defenders may give way to S. Rebrov.
Meanwhile, due to rare injuries, the Lithuanian national team does not have many reserves, as they are preparing with practically the same lineup that played against France. Team strategist Algimantas Liubinskas mentioned after last Saturday's match that there should not be any significant changes. If we can expect one or two changes in the starting lineup, it will probably be on the left flank - Rolandas Džiaukštas and Mindaugas Kalonas will compete with Gediminas Paulauskas and Igoris Morinas for a spot in the main eleven.
Predicted starting lineups
Ukraine (4-3-1-2): Shovkovskiy; Yezerskiy, Chygrynskiy, Rusol, Nesmachniy; Kalynychenko, Tymoschuk, Gusev; Rebrov; Voronin, Shevchenko
Lithuania (4-4-2): Karčemarskas; Paulauskas, Skerla, Žvirgždauskas, Klimavičius; Morinas, Šemberas, Savėnas, Stankevičius; Danilevičius, Poškus
