Lithuania national football team

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See also: Lithuania women's national football team

Lithuania
Nickname(s)Rinktine (National team)
AssociationLithuanian Football Federation
(Lietuvos futbolo federacija – LFF)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachValdas Urbonas
CaptainFedor Černych
Most capsSaulius Mikoliūnas (94)
Top scorerTomas Danilevičius (19)
Home stadiumLFF Stadium
FIFA codeLTU
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 134 Steady (27 May 2021)[1]
Highest37 (October 2008)
Lowest148 (November 2017)
First international
 Lithuania 0–5 Estonia 
(Kaunas, Lithuania; 24 June 1923)
Biggest win
 Lithuania 7–0 Estonia 
(Riga, Latvia; 20 May 1995)
Biggest defeat
 Egypt 10–0 Lithuania 
(Paris, France; 27 May 1924)

The Lithuania national football team (Lithuanian: Lietuvos nacionalinė futbolo rinktinė) represents Lithuania in international football and is controlled by the Lithuanian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Lithuania. They played their first match in 1923. In 1940, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union; the country regained its independence in 1990 and played their first match thereafter against Georgia on 27 May of that year.

Although Lithuania has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, nor the UEFA European Championship, they have successfully participated in the local sub-regional Baltic Cup tournament, which takes place every two years between Lithuania and their Baltic rivals, Latvia and Estonia. Lithuania has won the Baltic Cup championship 11 times, only Latvia has won it more. Despite this Lithuania holds the record for winning the most consecutive Baltic Cup championships, four titles in a row from 1996 to 2000.

Since 2012 the national team has played their home matches at the LFF Stadium in Vilnius.

History[edit]

On 24 June 1923, Lithuania played their first ever game, at the Lietuvos Fizinio Lavinimosi Sąjunga Stadionas, resulting in a 5–0 loss against Estonia. In 1924, Lithuania entered the 1924 Olympics in France, losing 9–0 against Switzerland on 25 May 1924. Two days later, Lithuania suffered a 10–0 loss to Egypt, a record defeat to date. During the early years of the Lithuanian national team, Lithuania regularly played Baltic neighbours Estonia and Latvia, with Lithuania's first win coming in a 2–1 away win against Estonia on 24 August 1924 in Tallinn. In 1930, Lithuania won the third edition of the Baltic Cup in Kaunas.[3] On 13 October 1940, Lithuania played their final game for just shy of 50 years, a 4–3 win against Latvia, following the first Soviet annexation of the country.[4]

Lithuania's first game following the declaration of independence in 1990 was a 2–2 draw against Georgia in Tbilisi on 27 May 1990.[5] In the 1990s, Lithuania established a respectable presence in the World Cup and European Championship qualifiers: third place in their group in both Euro 1996 and the 1998 World Cup qualifiers. In the Euro 2004 qualifiers, they were once again contenders for qualification and managed an away draw with Germany and a home win over Scotland; however, a 1–0 defeat to Scotland in the final game ended their hopes. Although finishing fifth in their 2006 World Cup qualifying group, Lithuania were nevertheless competitive.

Lithuania drew with world champions Italy 1–1 in Naples in a Euro 2008 qualifying game on 2 September 2006, in the first competitive game that Italy played since the World Cup final.

On 6 September 2008, Lithuania defeated Romania 3–0 in a 2010 World Cup qualifier. The victory was regarded by many as "a historic win."[6] It was followed by another successful 2–0 performance against Austria in Marijampolė on 10 September 2008.

Competitive record[edit]

FIFA World Cup record[edit]

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter Declined participation
Italy 1934 Did not qualify 1 0 0 1 0 2
France 1938 2 0 0 2 3 9
Brazil 1950 Part of the  Soviet Union Part of the  Soviet Union
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990
United States 1994 Did not qualify 12 2 3 7 8 21
France 1998 10 5 2 3 11 8
South Korea Japan 2002 8 0 2 6 3 20
Germany 2006 10 2 4 4 8 9
South Africa 2010 10 4 0 6 10 11
Brazil 2014 10 3 2 5 9 11
Russia 2018 10 1 3 6 7 20
Qatar 2022 To be determined To be determined
Canada Mexico United States 2026
Total 0/10 73 17 16 40 59 111

UEFA European Championship record[edit]

UEFA European Championship record UEFA European Championship qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D * L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
France 1960 Part of the  Soviet Union Part of the  Soviet Union
Spain 1964
Italy 1968
Belgium 1972
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976
Italy 1980
France 1984
West Germany 1988
Sweden 1992
England 1996 Did not qualify 10 5 1 4 13 12
Belgium Netherlands 2000 10 3 2 5 8 16
Portugal 2004 8 3 1 4 7 11
Austria Switzerland 2008 12 5 1 6 11 13
Poland Ukraine 2012 8 1 2 5 4 13
France 2016 10 3 1 6 7 18
European Union 2020 8 0 1 7 5 25
Germany 2024 To be determined To be determined
Total 0/7 66 20 9 37 55 108

UEFA Nations League records[edit]

UEFA Nations League record
Season** Division Group Pld W D* L GF GA P/R RK
Portugal 2018–19 C 4 6 0 0 6 3 16 Same position 39th
Italy 2020–21 C 4 6 2 2 2 5 7 Same position 41st
2022–23 C Future event
Total 12 2 2 8 8 23 39th
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
**Group stage played home and away. Flag shown represents host nation for the finals stage.

Recent results and upcoming fixtures[edit]

Main article: Lithuania national football team results
Date Venue Opponent Result Goalscorer(s) Captain Competition
2020
27 March 2020 Almaty, Kazakhstan  Kazakhstan cancelled International friendly
4 September 2020 Vilnius, Lithuania  Kazakhstan 0–2 Fedor Černych 2020–21 UEFA Nations League
7 September 2020 Tirana, Albania  Albania 0–1 Donatas Kazlauskas Saulius Mikoliūnas 2020–21 UEFA Nations League
7 October 2020 Tallinn, Estonia  Estonia 1–3 Arvydas Novikovas x2, Gratas Sirgėdas Saulius Mikoliūnas International friendly
11 October 2020 Vilnius, Lithuania  Belarus 2–2 Arvydas Novikovas, Karolis Laukžemis Saulius Mikoliūnas 2020–21 UEFA Nations League
14 October 2020 Vilnius, Lithuania  Albania 0–0 Saulius Mikoliūnas 2020–21 UEFA Nations League
11 November 2020 Vilnius, Lithuania  Faroe Islands 2–1 Gratas Sirgėdas x2 Tomas Švedkauskas International friendly
15 November 2020 Minsk, Belarus  Belarus 0–2 Tomas Švedkauskas 2020–21 UEFA Nations League
18 November 2020 Almaty, Kazakhstan  Kazakhstan 1–2 Modestas Vorobjovas, Arvydas Novikovas Saulius Mikoliūnas 2020–21 UEFA Nations League
2021
24 March Pristina, Kosovo  Kosovo 0–4 Fedor Černych International friendly
28 March St. Gallen, Switzerland   Switzerland 0–1 Saulius Mikoliūnas World Cup 2022 qualifiers
31 March Vilnius, Lithuania  Italy 0–2 Saulius Mikoliūnas World Cup 2022 qualifiers
1 June Vilnius, Lithuania  Estonia 0–1 2021 Baltic Cup
4 June Riga, Latvia  Latvia 2021 Baltic Cup
8 June Leganés, Spain  Spain International friendly
2 September Vilnius, Lithuania  Northern Ireland World Cup 2022 qualifiers
5 September Sofia, Bulgaria  Bulgaria World Cup 2022 qualifiers
8 September Italy  Italy World Cup 2022 qualifiers
9 October Vilnius, Lithuania  Bulgaria World Cup 2022 qualifiers
12 October Vilnius, Lithuania   Switzerland World Cup 2022 qualifiers
12 November Belfast, Northern Ireland  Northern Ireland World Cup 2022 qualifiers
16 November Minsk, Belarus  Belarus International friendly

Personnel[edit]

Current coaching staff[edit]

Position Name
Head coach Lithuania Valdas Urbonas
Assistant coach Lithuania Rolandas Džiaukštas
Assistant coach Lithuania Gediminas Šugžda
Fitness coach Lithuania Marius Čeliauskas
Goalkeeping coach Lithuania Justinas Gasiūnas
Analyst Lithuania Rokas Pranaitis

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

The following players were called up for the 2021 Baltic Cup and friendly match against Spain on 1, 4 and 8 June 2021.[7]
All caps and goals as of 1 June 2021 after the match against Estonia.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Titas Krapikas (1999-01-03) 3 January 1999 (age 22) 0 0 Italy Spezia
12 1GK Tomas Švedkauskas (1994-06-22) 22 June 1994 (age 26) 12 0 Belgium Lommel
16 1GK Deividas Mikelionis (1995-05-08) 8 May 1995 (age 26) 0 0 Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris
3 2DF Vytas Gašpuitis (1994-03-04) 4 March 1994 (age 27) 6 0 Scotland Dunfermline Athletic
4 2DF Edvinas Girdvainis (1993-01-19) 19 January 1993 (age 28) 32 0 Germany KFC Uerdingen 05
5 2DF Markas Beneta (1993-07-08) 8 July 1993 (age 27) 11 0 Lithuania Sūduva
8 2DF Egidijus Vaitkūnas (1988-08-08) 8 August 1988 (age 32) 55 0 Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris
13 2DF Saulius Mikoliūnas (Captain) (1984-05-02) 2 May 1984 (age 37) 94 5 Lithuania Žalgiris
14 2DF Linas Mėgelaitis (1998-09-09) 9 September 1998 (age 22) 1 0 Italy Gubbio
23 2DF Rolandas Baravykas (1995-08-23) 23 August 1995 (age 25) 20 1 Albania Kukësi
25 2DF Sigitas Olberkis (1997-04-19) 19 April 1997 (age 24) 0 0 Estonia Legion Tallinn
2 3MF Martynas Dapkus (1993-02-16) 16 February 1993 (age 28) 11 0 Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris
6 3MF Tautvydas Eliošius (1991-11-03) 3 November 1991 (age 29) 8 0 Lithuania Panevėžys
11 3MF Arvydas Novikovas (1990-12-18) 18 December 1990 (age 30) 68 12 Turkey BB Erzurumspor
15 3MF Deimantas Petravičius (1995-09-02) 2 September 1995 (age 25) 21 1 Spain Águilas
17 3MF Justas Lasickas (1997-10-06) 6 October 1997 (age 23) 21 0 Serbia Voždovac
19 3MF Donatas Kazlauskas (1994-03-31) 31 March 1994 (age 27) 23 2 Ukraine Lviv
20 3MF Domantas Šimkus (1996-02-10) 10 February 1996 (age 25) 19 0 Israel Hapoel Kfar Saba
21 3MF Karolis Šilkaitis (1996-06-02) 2 June 1996 (age 25) 0 0 Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris
26 3MF Ovidijus Verbickas (1993-07-04) 4 July 1993 (age 27) 22 1 Lithuania Žalgiris
3MF Paulius Golubickas (1999-08-19) 19 August 1999 (age 21) 10 0 Lithuania Dainava
9 4FW Karolis Laukžemis (1992-03-11) 11 March 1992 (age 29) 22 2 Kazakhstan Kaisar
18 4FW Edgaras Dubickas (1998-07-08) 8 July 1998 (age 22) 0 0 Italy Livorno
22 4FW Fedor Černych (1991-05-21) 21 May 1991 (age 30) 63 9 Poland Jagiellonia Białystok

Recent call-ups[edit]

The following players have been called up for the team in the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Edvinas Gertmonas INJ (1996-06-01) 1 June 1996 (age 25) 1 0 Lithuania Žalgiris v.  Estonia, 1 June 2021 PRE
GK Lukas Paukštė INJ (1998-09-25) 25 September 1998 (age 22) 0 0 Lithuania Riteriai v.  Estonia, 1 June 2021 PRE
GK Ignas Driomovas (1997-04-27) 27 April 1997 (age 24) 0 0 Lithuania Banga Gargždai v.  Italy, 31 March 2021
GK Marius Adamonis (1997-05-13) 13 May 1997 (age 24) 0 0 Italy Salernitana v.  Italy, 31 March 2021
GK Emilijus Zubas (1990-07-10) 10 July 1990 (age 30) 14 0 Turkey Adana Demirspor v.  Belarus, 11 October 2020 WD
GK Džiugas Bartkus (1989-11-07) 7 November 1989 (age 31) 6 0 Israel Ironi Kiryat Shmona v.  Albania, 7 September 2020
DF Rimvydas Sadauskas (1996-07-21) 21 July 1996 (age 24) 0 0 Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris v.  Italy, 31 March 2021
DF Markus Palionis RET (1987-05-12) 12 May 1987 (age 34) 14 0 Germany Jahn Regensburg v.  Kosovo, 24 March 2021 PRE
DF Dominykas Barauskas (1997-04-18) 18 April 1997 (age 24) 0 0 Lithuania Riteriai v.  Belarus, 15 November 2020
DF Linas Klimavičius (1989-04-10) 10 April 1989 (age 32) 27 0 Lithuania Dainava v.  Albania, 7 September 2020
MF Gratas Sirgėdas INJ (1994-12-17) 17 December 1994 (age 26) 13 5 Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris v.  Estonia, 1 June 2021 PRE
MF Vykintas Slivka INJ (1995-04-29) 29 April 1995 (age 26) 44 2 Greece Apollon Smyrnis v.  Italy, 31 March 2021
MF Daniel Romanovskij (1996-06-19) 19 June 1996 (age 24) 6 0 Ukraine Olimpik Donetsk v.  Italy, 31 March 2021
MF Modestas Vorobjovas INJ (1995-12-30) 30 December 1995 (age 25) 23 1 Romania UTA Arad v.  Kosovo, 24 March 2021 PRE
MF Ernestas Veliulis (1992-08-22) 22 August 1992 (age 28) 3 0 Lithuania Panevėžys v.  Kazakhstan, 18 November 2020
MF Edgaras Utkus (2000-06-22) 22 June 2000 (age 20) 2 0 Monaco Monaco v.  Kazakhstan, 18 November 2020
MF Domantas Antanavičius (1998-11-18) 18 November 1998 (age 22) 0 0 Lithuania Panevėžys v.  Albania, 7 September 2020
FW Nerijus Valskis (1987-08-04) 4 August 1987 (age 33) 25 1 India Jamshedpur v.  Italy, 31 March 2021
FW Gytis Paulauskas (1999-09-27) 27 September 1999 (age 21) 1 0 Lithuania Riteriai v.  Belarus, 15 November 2020
Notes
  • PRE = Preliminary squad.
  • WD = The player withdrew from the current squad due to non-injury issue.
  • INJ = It is not part of the current squad due to injury.
  • RET = Retired from the national team.

Player records[edit]

As of 31 March 2021[8]
Players in bold are still active, at least at club level.

All-time head-to-head record[edit]

Main article: Lithuanian national football team head to head

As of 31 March 2021.

List of managers[edit]

Name Nat From To Games Won Drawn Lost GF GA Win%
Benjaminas Zelkevičius Lithuania 1990 1991 3 1 2 0 7 4 033.33
Algimantas Liubinskas Lithuania 1992 1994 29 7 8 14 29 48 024.14
Benjaminas Zelkevičius Lithuania 1995 1997 29 12 6 11 45 41 041.38
Kęstutis Latoža Lithuania 1998 1999 18 5 4 9 15 24 027.78
Robertas Tautkus (caretaker) Lithuania 1999 1999 1 0 0 1 0 3 000.00
Stasys Stankus Lithuania 2000 2000 8 2 0 6 8 18 025.00
Julius Kvedaras (caretaker) Lithuania 2000 2000 1 0 0 1 1 6 000.00
Benjaminas Zelkevičius Lithuania 2001 2003 19 4 3 12 20 41 021.05
Algimantas Liubinskas Lithuania 2003 2008 50 18 6 26 54 65 036.00
José Couceiro Portugal 2008 2009 15 6 3 6 17 15 040.00
Raimondas Žutautas Lithuania 2010 2011 16 4 3 9 11 22 025.00
Csaba László Hungary 2012 2013 16 2 4 10 12 28 012.50
Igoris Pankratjevas Lithuania 2013 2015 21 5 5 11 14 31 023.81
Edgaras Jankauskas Lithuania 2016 2018 26 3 5 18 14 50 011.54
Valdas Urbonas Lithuania 2019 Present 21 5 4 12 16 41 023.81

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  3. ^ "MATCHES → international football results of Lithuania". eufootball.info. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  4. ^ "International football MATCH: 13.10.1940 Lithuania v Latvia*". eufootball.info. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  5. ^ "International football MATCH: 27.05.1990 Georgia v Lithuania". eufootball.info. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  6. ^ FIFA World Cup uefa.com
  7. ^ "Baltijos taurę pasitinkantis V. Urbonas: „Turime būti nusiteikę ryžtingai"" (in Lithuanian). Lithuanian Football Federation. 24 May 2021.
  8. ^ Mamrud, Roberto. "Lithuania - Record International Players". RSSSF.

External links[edit]

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