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The Lithuanian U-16 football team (players born in 1996 and younger) has begun preparations for the European U-17 Championship qualifying round taking place in Belgium this fall. This Thursday, the young footballers will test their skills in friendly matches at home against their counterparts from Greece. "We are pleased to welcome such a strong opponent to our country. We have been friends with the Greeks since last year when our U-17 team played in their country. We also met them in January at V.Granatkin's U-18 tournament. The Greeks appreciate the youth teams of our country and decided to come," said Stasys Stankus, the technical director of the Lithuanian Football Federation. The U-16 team coach, Vytautas Vaškūnas, expressed satisfaction with the team's preparation for the matches and the fact that all invited players have arrived at the training camp. "In these friendly matches, we will try to accomplish certain tasks and aim to overcome the opponent. The players are healthy and motivated to compete," said the U-16 team's strategist. The core of the team for these matches will consist of players from the National Football Academy (NFA), but there will also be several young footballers playing in foreign clubs - Tomas Dombrauskis and Audrius Laučys representing English clubs, Vilius Drazdauskas playing in Germany, and the Rukas brothers representing Zenit's youth team in St. Petersburg. According to Vaškūnas, there are no standout leaders in the team, but the most experienced players include T. Dombrauskis, S. Rakauskas, and team captain D. Šimkus. "In any case, the most important thing is that this team does not lack the spirit of fighters, energy, and discipline," said the U-16 team coach. The U-16 teams from Lithuania and Greece will play this Thursday in Kaunas at the National Football Academy stadium. The match will start at 5:00 PM. The match will be broadcast live on "Futbolo.tv." Composition of the Lithuanian U-16 team for the friendly matches against Greece: Goalkeepers: Deividas Šalaševičius (National Football Academy - Vilnius), Edvinas Gertmanas (NFA-Šilalė). Defenders: Ernestas Pečiulis (NFA - Kėdainiai), Laimonas Juravičius (NFA - Kaunas), Rimvydas Sadauskas (NFA - Kaunas), Benas Spietinis (Jonava FM), Martynas Zaleckis (NFA - Kaunas), Lukas Pupšys (NFA-Telšiai), Andrius Rukas (Zenit St. Petersburg, Russia), Tomas Rukas (Zenit St. Petersburg, Russia). Midfielders: Donatas Šėgžda (NFA - Radviliškis), Domantas Šimkus (NFA - Šiauliai), Tomas Keršulis (NFA - Kaunas), Ainas Bareikis (Kaunas FM), Daniel Romanovskij (Vilnius FM), Edvinas Puzara (Marijampolė FM), Tomas Dombrauskis (Leicester City, England), Skirmantas Rakauskas (NFA-Klaipėda), Vilius Drazdauskas (RB Leipzig, Germany), Pranas Šimanauskas (Panevėžys FA). Forwards: Artur Skuratovič (Vilnius FM), Audrius Laučys (Brentford F.C., England).
