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After ten weeks following the triumph of the Italian youth (up to 21 years old) team in the 2004 European Championship, a new selection cycle begins, in which 48 teams will compete for the right to participate in the final matches of the 2006 European Championship.
The selection group matches will take place until October 12, 2005, after which the knockout matches will be played from November 12-16, 2005. The final tournament will start on May 25, 2006, and end on June 6.
The 8 groups are divided in the same way as in the national team selection for the 2006 World Cup, except Andorra, Liechtenstein, Faroe Islands, and Northern Ireland do not have their youth teams. In place of the latter in the youth sixth group is the German team, which will not participate in the national team selection because it is the host of the future World Cup.
The Lithuanian youth team, like the national team, is in the seventh group together with Spain, Belgium, Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and San Marino.
The team coached by Virginijus Liubšys plays friendly matches today in Germany with their counterparts (live broadcast starts at 20:45 on DSF channel), and will start the selection cycle on September 3 in Belgium.
Lithuanian youth team's schedule for the 2006 European Youth Championship selection cycle
2004/09/03 21:00 Lithuanian time, Westerlo Belgium - Lithuania
2004/09/07 18:00, Vilnius Lithuania - San Marino
2004/10/12, Kaunas Lithuania - Spain
2004/11/16, San Marino San Marino - Lithuania
2005/03/29 Bosnia and Herzegovina - Lithuania
2005/06/03 Spain - Lithuania
2005/09/02 Serbia and Montenegro - Lithuania
2005/09/06 Lithuania - Bosnia and Herzegovina
2005/10/07 Lithuania - Serbia and Montenegro
2005/10/11 Lithuania - Belgium
