At 19 o'clock the 2018 World Cup qualifying stage started at the LFF stadium. The Lithuanian national team started the fight towards the dream. The first opponent - the Slovenian national team, which has participated in the World Cup group stage twice, with players like Jan Oblak, Kevin Kampl, and Josip Iličić. The students trained by Edgar Jankauskas started the match very successfully and scored a very important victory at the very end of the match. Lithuanians led with a score of 2-0, but the character shown by the Slovenians allowed them to take a point from Vilnius - the match ended with a score of 2-2. From the very beginning of the match, there was a fierce battle on the field. Both teams played fast football, even though the weather conditions were not favorable. In the 5th minute, the visitors created their first serious opportunity when, after a pass near the goal area, Slovenian attackers failed to reach the ball. In the 11th minute, the Lithuanian team also made their first dangerous shot when Mantas Kuklys sent the ball to Jan Oblak's corner from the ground. Later, Fedor Chernych and Nerijus Valskis had a chance to score with a header, but Ernest Šetkus also had his work cut out for him, rejecting a powerful opponent's shot in the 25th minute. Less than 10 minutes later, the LFF stadium erupted in triumph - in the 32nd minute, team captain F. Chernych, who sprinted from the left flank, scored a wonderful goal from about 25 meters into the Slovenian national team's goal. The Slovenians were a bit shaken, and the Lithuanians took advantage, increasing their lead within two minutes. Lithuanians took the ball in defense and rushed to attack, where Vykintas Slivka sprinted down the left flank with the ball to the penalty area and there, with a clever shot, forced J. Oblak to pull the ball out of his goal once again. In the second half, Slovenia was not ready to give up, and from the first minutes, Lithuanians were forced to defend against dangerous shots. E. Šetkus played reliably in goal, repelling all opponents' shots until the 77th minute. The Lithuanians had their chances to counterattack, but in the 77th minute, they were punished when Rene Krhin scored a header after a corner. Sensing that they could level the score in this tough match, the Slovenians began to press even harder in front of their own fans, against the Lithuanians. The referee added 3 minutes, and Lithuania still led. It seemed that E. Jankauskas' team would withstand the opponents' attacks and achieve their first victory, but in the last added minute, what everyone feared the most happened - the equalizer was scored. After a high ball into the box, Slovenia's captain Bostjan Cesar headed the ball into E. Šetkus' goal. The Lithuanian national team players couldn't believe what had happened and were forced to shrug it off. Unfortunately, the qualifying stage started off with a draw and a hard-fought point. England, defeating Slovakia, rose to the top spot in the group. In the next away match, the Lithuanians will play against Scotland. Result: Lithuania 2 - 2 Slovenia 32' [1 - 0] F. Chernych 34' [2 - 0] V. Slivka 77' [2 - 1] R. Krhin 90+3' [2 - 2] B. Cesar Starting lineups: Lithuania: Šetkus; Slavickas, Girdvainis, Freidgeimas, Vaitkūnas, Kuklys, Žulpa, Novikovas, Černych, Slivka, Valskis. Substitutes: Zubas, Klevinskas, Česnauskis, A. Klimavičius, L. Klimavičius, Baravykas, Chvedukas, Verbickas, Lukša, Matulevičius, Radzinevičius. Slovenia: Oblak, Skubič, Samardžič, Cesar, Jokič, Krhin, Verbič, Birsa, Kampl, Berič, Bezjak.
