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The Lithuanian national men's football team has a new coach - during Thursday's LFF Executive Committee meeting, it was confirmed that former legendary Lithuanian footballer Valdas Ivanauskas will now lead the team. At an official press conference on Thursday, the coach was introduced to the media. Having signed a contract until the end of the World Cup qualifying cycle, the specialist expressed joy at the opportunity to take over the reins of the national team. "I thank the Football Federation, Executive Committee members for the opportunity to become the coach of the Lithuanian national team. I believe that signing a contract until the end of the qualifying cycle at this time is the optimal solution, all the months that I worked in the U19 national team provided a lot of useful information. It is quite positive and I would like to continue this progression in the U21 and national team. I believe this is our future, our and the federation's goals coincided," said the coach. He also highlighted several factors that influenced his decision to accept the offer to become the national team coach. "Our opinions with the federation coincided, what we want. The recent defeats were painful not only in terms of results but also in terms of mindset. We are really in a difficult situation, we are realists and understand everything, we understand that something needs to change. Patience, faith are necessary, but it is also very important that the players really want to play for the national team, strive to give their all and show their mastery," explained the coach. The new national team leader also stated that his immediate task will be to communicate with the footballers on his extended list. "Calls will start, we will have to listen to each player's desires, goals, a phone conversation will be enough to determine if a player deserves to represent the national team or not, so it will be a very important mission - to contact the players as soon as possible, find out about their physical form, their situation in clubs. We will try to make sure that they have enough time to prepare for the first match against Northern Ireland," said the coach. Just a reminder that the new national team staff will also include assistant coach Tomas Ražanauskas, goalkeeper coach Audrius Ramonas, and physical trainer from Germany Thomas Klimmeckas. Another assistant should join the team before official matches. The first test for the new coaching staff awaits on September 2, when the Lithuanian national team will face Northern Ireland at home in the World Cup qualifying match. Later, the team will meet Bulgaria (September 5) and the new European champion Italy (September 8) in away matches.
