Lithuania’s U19 side secured top spot in their European Championship qualifying group in Raudondvaris after taking four points from two matches and earning promotion to Division A.
Mindaugas Čepas’ team opened the tournament with a 4:0 win over Azerbaijan before a goalless draw against Northern Ireland on Tuesday proved enough to finish first and continue their qualifying campaign at the higher level.
After the second match, Čepas said the coaching staff’s preparation had been important against opponents whose game was built on physical duels and direct football. He said Lithuania knew they had to deal with long balls and second balls, describing those as the key defensive tasks.
The coach also said his side went out to win rather than protect the point they needed. He highlighted the importance of attacking the spaces around Northern Ireland’s wide areas and said he had full trust in his players in forward positions, even if the team were unable to find a goal.
Čepas was particularly encouraged by the squad’s development during the campaign. “I really like how the players’ awareness is changing and how their mentality is changing,” he said. “I told the boys after the game that when the mentality changes, the results change as well.”
He added that some early nerves were understandable, but Lithuania gradually took control and created chances. Looking back on the tournament as a whole, Čepas said the team were satisfied with both the performance against Northern Ireland and the qualifying round overall.
Source: https://www.lff.lt/m-cepas-po-pergalingo-u19-rinktines-pasirodymo-labai-patinka-kaip-keiciasi-zaideju-samone/
