Edgars Jankauskas’ students, who controlled the course of the match and showed a solid game, were unable to take advantage of well-created opportunities, although they had more than one or two of them. The author of the only goal was Ioannis Pittas, who scored a goal after a careless mistake by Lithuanians near his own goal.
E. Jankauskas, the strategist who spoke after the unsuccessful meeting, praised the performance of his men, but kept emphasizing the lack of fortune. Not only national football players, but also other ball virtuosos, who once defended our country’s tricolor on the field, responded similarly about the match.
Mantas Kuklys, currently representing Šiauliai club, who has played 38 matches for the Lithuanian national football team in 7 years, to the portal lrytas.lt revealed that he was impressed by the work of his colleagues against the Cyprus national team and seconded E. Jankauska’s comments about success.
“I evaluate the game positively. The only negative thing in this situation is the result. In my eyes, in Friday’s match the Lithuanians were better in all aspects – both by looking at the statistical data and by the opportunities created to score a goal. A good performance but it’s a shame it didn’t turn into three points.
Class and assurance are required at all times when a goal is to be scored at a crucial time. I would agree with the coaches that there was a lack of luck and luck at certain moments. Kipris Kazukolov’s first strike…
He hit the opponent directly from 3 meters. If it was a little to the left or right, a goal would have been scored. It is possible to write off both failure and lack of mastery. We saw that the Cypriot national team had one chance that turned into a goal. Dual feelings”, thought M. Kuklys.
Although the Lithuanian national team failed to please their fans, the best player of the match award went to our defender Artemijus Tutyškinas, whose passes helped the team create so many threatening situations at the opponent’s goal. However, the 37-year-old midfielder wanted to pay tribute to everyone – both football players and coaches – so he did not praise anyone.
“I couldn’t single out one player, because I was surprised by the performance of the entire team. I still play football myself, I am very interested in the coach’s bread, I pay a lot of attention to tactical ideas and formations.
I liked how the Lithuanians played, they actively pressured their opponents, they didn’t let them move easily, M. Kuklys praised his team. – Both Justas Lasickas and Pijus Širvys played very well in the defense of our region. I was impressed by the whole strategy of the national team and the desire to win. The only thing that’s stuck is the missed opportunities.”
Already on Monday at 9:45 p.m., a more powerful challenge from Romania, which occupies the 45th place in the UEFA ranking, awaits our team. The latter defeated football players from Kosovo 3:0 in the first group match. The Romanians, who surprised many and reached the round of 16 at the European Championship held this summer, will aim to overcome the guests from Lithuania with a similar result. M. Kuklys, who understands this very well, only wants a few things from E. Jankauskas’ army – similar tactics and combativeness.
“Probably the coaches always say that you need to go to the field and stick to the game plan. I really hope and hope that the Lithuanians will choose the same style (as in the match against Cyprus), will not allow the Romanians to play easily, will try to intercept as many balls as possible in the third zone, near the opponent’s goal. I watched the review and stats of the Romania vs Kosovo match – Romanians had a high xG (probable goals by chances created) but Kosovo controlled the whole match, even had more shots. Yes, Romania is a team of the European Championship, which has reached the next round, has much stronger players, but if our team plays bravely and is not afraid to take risks in some moments, I think we can expect at least a point”, hopes the former national team player.
Speaking to the media the day before the match in Bucharest, E. Jankauskas and goalkeeper Edvinas Gertmons, who is competing in Romania, emphasized the opponents’ shots from afar, which are unusually numerous in every match. Šiauliai’s midfielder, speaking about Romanian football, also mentioned it.
“Long shots are very important, especially for the Romanian game,” began M. Kuklys. – If you often shoot from distance, you will create more opportunities for your striker to receive the ball in freer areas closer to the goal. When you shoot from further, you get more attention from defenders, who can leave an empty space behind you. Here is one of our opponents’ trump cards. We saw what goals he scored in the European Championship. These things are definitely something to watch out for.”
It is true that not only long shots await our players, but also an increased threat of injuries – the lawn of the Steaua stadium in the capital of Romania turns out to be in a very close to tragic state.
“Rokas Lekiat played here a week ago, he said that the pitch was very bad, that there was almost no grass there. Now those herbs are there, maybe she is still a little weaker, but she is recovering. The pitch itself is flat, but the grass is very fluffy. In this case, there is probably no other option, we will have to play here”, said E. Jankauskas at the press conference on Sunday.
Such misunderstandings did not even touch the fans of the Romanian national team, because more than 30 thousand football lovers should gather in the stadium. If people in Romania don’t see a problem with the poor quality of the lawn, why couldn’t the Lithuanian national team play at the Darius i Girėnas Stadium?
“You can play anywhere, even on the asphalt,” replied M. Kuklys jokingly. – In order to produce beautiful football, so that the spectator can see the quality… It must be played on beautifully maintained grass that can be touched by water, where the ball slides and the players feel pleasure. I don’t know if it will do you any good to suffer on the ground. Yes, the audience will come and support anyway because they will have no choice. Such things are strange to me, especially in a country that has countless good stadiums.”
After speaking about the opponents’ stadium, the 37-year-old football player did not forget to discuss the curiosity of the field in Kaunas. He also praised his colleagues in the national team for the decision to play in Marijampole.
“As Edgaras Stankevičius (General Secretary of the Lithuanian Football Federation) said, I find the situation regarding the concerts very strange, because they really could have taken place after the national team’s match. What else stands out – I had to visit Latvia last year when they had a similar problem with the stadium grass, but the Latvian Football Federation managed to lay new grass in a day, – brothers M. Kuklys used the example. “If they had known that there would be such a situation, they certainly could have organized the replacement of the grass and there would have been no problems.”
I evaluate the game in Marijampolė only positively, because I like that the players and coaches of the Lithuanian national team realized that it is better to compete on a normal surface, and not to struggle and suffer “potato field”. I really appreciate this attitude of the team.”
Finally, a former member of our country’s national football team had a wish for his colleagues in Romania that would allow us to stay in the C Division of the League of Nations and avoid relegation, which we narrowly avoided last season.
We remind you that in the fight for survival, in March, the Lithuanians defeated the players of Gibraltar with a total score of 2:0.
“I don’t want to ever guess because I’m not very good at it.” I, like most coaches and players, am all for going to every game and showing the best possible football, trying to win, no matter who the opponent is. That’s why I would like the national team to show the kind of game they showed against Cyprus in every match, and a positive result will come with time. I have no doubt that the national team will collect some dowry of points and we will not be left with zero”, concluded M. Kuklys.
2024-09-09 18:10:29