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In his hand: the coach of the Lithuanian team squeezed out the “dry” first half on Wednesday, which for a while silenced the skeptics and even a few moments that gave hope. And Lithuanian football fans have already learned the name of goalkeeper Tomas Švedkauskas of Belgian club Lommel.
The Lithuanian team did not repeat the feat achieved in Naples in 2006, when Lithuania played 1: 1 with world champion Italy. The Lithuanians did not repeat the goal, which was scored by current LFF President Tomas Danilevičius and is often remembered by fans who yearned for the good old days.
But he delivered tense moments and even some hot shots to the Italian goal.
In the qualifying rounds for the World Cup, Lithuania lost 0: 2 (0: 0) to the team of former club coaches such as Roma’s Lazio, Milan’s Inter Milan and Manchester City’s Roberto Mancini.
“Match with a strong rival, 0 points, but I have to thank the men for their dedication, struggle, determination and patriotism. They gave away 120 percent instead of 100 percent. The result is negative, but this type of game toughens the players and the team itself. There will be better days in the future in terms of points, ”said V. Urbonas.
Mancini repeated the record of Marcello Lippi in Vilnius, which was completely sad, both for the quality of the field, which was mentioned by a 56-year-old Italian who knew perfectly the world of football before the duel, and for the empty stands closed by the pandemic. The Italian team has not lost 25 games in a row.
An impressive number in the capital was witnessed by some fans – yes, the stands were empty, but many of them gathered at a fence or in a forest on a hill next to the LFF headquarters, which has already become a traditional place.
But Italians living in Lithuania expected more. Let’s be open: the Lithuanians themselves wanted more for a moment, when in the second half (66 minutes) Fedoras Černychas masterfully read the situation and hit his head. Sorry, but the ball bounced off the post. How many points is Tautvydas Eliošius’ attempt in the 73rd minute, which was stopped only by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
“There may be a feeling, but if the events do not occur in the square, the feeling will still be a feeling.” In the second half we had good situations, in which we counterattacked, we had the opportunity to score a goal. It is sad that we have not taken advantage of those situations. Another thing is to praise T.Švedkauskas, who showed on the goal line why he is the main goalkeeper of the national team, – said the helmsman of the Lithuanian team after the game, “said the coach, who was obviously disappointed with him. Full Time.
There is nothing to hide, in the first part we saw who the favorites of the match are. Even the Italians, not even the most powerful, were faster, and the differences in soccer technique became apparent after a few touches of the ball, but in front of the Italian soccer school, the Lithuanian team built a sticky defense and a fight. play.
And here the students of V. Urbonas paid off: the Italians were close to the goal more than once, but the ball in the first half did not cross the goal line of T.Švedkauskas, although such a scenario was very real: T .Švedkauskas got I met the Roma footballer already in minute 6. Lorenzo Pellegrini attacks. After 4 minutes, this player again tried his luck but was inapplicable.
R. Mancini’s men were looking for a quick goal, but the Italian waves bounced off the crumbling defenders of the Lithuanian national team and T.Švedkauskas himself, who finished the fourth by repelled the blow from Chelsea member Emerson (remember A. Kubilius’ promise?).
The statistics showed that Italy was higher, but the image in the square forced to silence a very large group of Italian fans in Lithuania. Their gods were in control of the ball 67% of the time. time, he hit 13 times, he won two yellow cards, but V. Urbonas and the company left the field happy.
Returning to the plaza was natural and painful. In the 48th minute, Milan midfielder Stefano Sensi landed a great pass and reminded the Italian soccer school in cold blood of the 1-0 scoreline. A minute later, Juventus Turin forward Federico Bernardeschi struck in an extremely dangerous way, but the ball flew close to the goal.
A minute later, T. Švedkauskas had to catch the ball sent by Lazio forward Ciro Immobile into the center of the goal.
In the second part, R. Mancini’s team again completed their work and once again overwhelmed the Lithuanians with all their might.
However, V. Urbonas also had a plan for that. The Lithuanians came closer to the Italian goal more than once, and the Lithuanians fiercely defended T.Švedkauskas, who repeatedly withstood a blow that could freely become a goal.
The Lithuanian team showed character, but the duel ended in very bad taste: already during additional time Donatas Kazlauskas knocked down the opponent in the penalty area, and C. Immobile easily took an 11-meter penalty.
“In the second half we had good situations in which we had a counterattack, we had the opportunity to score a goal. It is sad that we did not take advantage of those situations. That sadness … Maybe we ran out of strength because it was already the third game. “The 11-meter penalty was the most disappointing. We had to finish the game 1: 0. But we understand who we were dealing with, “said V. Urbonas.
The Lithuanian team started the world championship team with a 0: 1 defeat to the Swiss team, the defeat of the Italians was 0: 2.
Northern Ireland and Bulgaria still play in Group C.
– Coaches, power was lost twice before the conference. Now we speak when we hear the roar of the generator. Isn’t it a shame to accept such opponents at this LFF stadium?
– If we speak of shame, I must say that it is not a shame for me, neither for the players nor for the federation. It’s a shame for all of us that we haven’t been able to do that in so many years … It’s hard to realize that we don’t have a stadium where we can honor any guests.
This is the same as inviting guests and planting it outside on the lawn next to a tree.
You see the stadium, but when you walk in and see what happens behind the scenes, you realize that this stadium is not designed for good and serious games. It does not decorate us.
Many promised to do something. And Gitan Nauseda promised to intervene, but the fact is that there is no stadium. Perhaps the reconstructed stadiums of S. Darius and S. Gir S.nas in Kaunas will appear next year.
– You played with both Switzerland and Italy. Which of these teams do you think should go to the World Cup?
– I wouldn’t judge him. Teams: high caliber, they have a deep lineup. It is not our business to guess which one will come out. More important to me is how we see ourselves in the fight against elite teams. That fight was not bad.
We don’t run away, we turn away and kneel against any of those teams.
– Were these games the most difficult of the three you had?
– The hardest, because it was the third. Some players played all three games after 90 minutes and it felt like this. This time we had a good chance of not creating in Switzerland.
– What has been done better this time than in Switzerland, where we have hardly seen any attacks?
– We model. We started the simulation in a match with Kosovo. Maybe not so bright. But if we compare the party with Kosovo, Italy and Switzerland, then in the attacks certain blows were from the Kosovo duel.
We think not only about how to defend, but also about how to attack. These were not random moments.
– How many cancers affected Fyodor Chernych’s trauma and how serious is it?
– The seriousness is still difficult to say. The injury was serious because he could not continue the game. The quick Italian goal at the beginning of the second half had a significant impact. This allowed them to relax and create more situations.
The goal was to survive as long as possible and include them. That goal was not timely.
– As for the beginning of the second part, the first was very disciplined. Why did the Italians manage to create so many opportunities in those few minutes?
– Maybe it looked like that visually. There was no euphoria during the break and the belief that the match was going in a positive direction. We talked about where there were problems in the first half. It’s a shame we missed the goal, but we were able to defend ourselves there. Unfortunately, leave.
– You mentioned fatigue, but this time you didn’t use all the changes. Why?
– Changes – part. There are three stops. You need to keep an eye on what you collect and spend. The next point is to have people who will activate the game when they leave. What matters is not the desire to take advantage of the changes, but to add the highest possible quality.
– You praised T.Švedkauskas – Where are the limits of this player and where could his career turn?
– I’m not responsible for your career. I can contribute to the revelation of your talent. What he did last year today is worthy of the highest rating. Another thing: a good game for the national team does not guarantee contracts.
We don’t have much demand in the market, but I hope you have no problem signing a contract that suits your level of play.
