Lithuania in a closed-door friendly will host Israel

The Lithuanian national football team will close out their year with a friendly match today against Israel at the Darius and Girėnas Stadium in Kaunas. The match kicks off at 19:00, but unlike originally planned, the stands will remain empty.

Although tickets had been sold for the match, Lithuanian Football Federation president Edgaras Stankevičius announced earlier this week that the game would be played behind closed doors due to security concerns. Fans who had purchased tickets will receive full refunds.

Still, the game on the pitch will go ahead as planned. Lithuania’s head coach Edgaras Jankauskas emphasized during the pre-match press conference:

“This is an important match, an opportunity to achieve a result and perform. There will be many fans watching on television, even if they won’t be in the stadium. That should not affect our attitude, dedication, or desire to win.”

Jankauskas’ side will be looking to secure their first victory of 2025 – and their first overall since June 8, 2024, when they defeated Latvia in the Baltic Cup.

The squad features both returns and fresh faces. Defender Sigitas Olberkis, currently playing in Albania, has received his first call-up since 2021, while Domantas Šimkus rejoins the national team for the first time since March 2023. Making his debut in the senior team is Motiejus Burba, a 22-year-old winger from FK Žalgiris, who was a late addition to the squad, replacing Artur Dolžnikov (playing in the Czech Republic), who withdrew for personal reasons.

Jankauskas praised Burba’s perseverance and development:

“Motiejus has had a good season. It wasn’t an easy journey – he played for the reserve team, went out on loan, but he never lost his hunger to improve and play. Wherever his career took him, he worked like a true professional. This time, we had several candidates, and after consulting his coaches, we saw that his physical form in the final round of the A Lyga showed he’s a high-quality player who makes the most of every opportunity. Those are the things that matter when choosing a player,” Jankauskas explained.

While earlier today it was known that another debutant has been called up to replace an injured player – this season’s A Lyga top-goalscorer Eligijus Jankauskas was withdrawn from the candidate lists with his FA Šiauliai teammate Gabrielius Micevičius earning his first call-up to the Lithuanian National Team.

Following the friendly against Israel, Lithuania will travel to Amsterdam, where on November 17 they will wrap up their World Cup qualifying campaign with a tough away fixture against the powerhouse Netherlands.

Lithuania National Team Squad for Matches Against Israel and the Netherlands

Goalkeepers

• Džiugas Bartkus – Al Riffa (Bahrain)
• Edvinas Gertmonas – Universitatea Cluj (Romania)
• Tomas Švedkauskas – Kauno Žalgiris (Lithuania)

Defenders

• Vilius Armalas – FC Hegelmann (Lithuania)
• Markas Beneta – Sūduva Marijampolė (Lithuania)
• Justas Lasickas – Rijeka (Croatia)
• Rokas Lekiatas – Kauno Žalgiris (Lithuania)
• Sigitas Olberkis – Elbasani (Albania)
• Pijus Širvys – Maribor (Slovenia)
• Artemijus Tutyškinas – Celje (Slovenia)
• Klaudijus Upstas – FC Hegelmann (Lithuania)
• Edgaras Utkus – Cercle Brugge (Belgium)

Midfielders

• Motiejus Burba – FK Žalgiris (Lithuania)
• Gabrielius Micevičius – FA Šiauliai (Lithuania)
• Gvidas Gineitis – Torino (Italy)
• Paulius Golubickas – KuPS (Finland)
• Tomas Kalinauskas – Kalmar FF (Sweden)
• Gratas Sirgėdas – Kauno Žalgiris (Lithuania)
• Domantas Šimkus – Hamrun Spartans (Malta)
• Modestas Vorobjovas – Istanbulspor (Turkey)

Forwards

• Fedor Černych – Kauno Žalgiris (Lithuania)
• Edgaras Dubickas – Ternana (Italy)
• Gytis Paulauskas – MFK Zemplín Michalovce (Slovakia)